Narrator Selma Ducanovic establishes a passion-filled voice for 11-year-old Amra, who grew up in Bosnia in the 1980s, right before tension built up to a horrific war. Following the death of her brother, Amar, Amra struggles to deal with the pain, finding hope in friends and family. Ducanovic beautifully portrays the tumultuous feelings of each of these young characters. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess narrates her author's note and update on where all those mentioned in the book are now, making the story even more personal. Listeners, especially narrative nonfiction fans, will feel deeply connected to Amra in this coming-of-age memoir, which offers a window onto the lives of those who have lived through the horrors of war and genocide.
(Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
Duration: 10 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593747018
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ken Coleman's expertise as a baseball announcer enriches this history of the Boston Red Sox since the sale of Babe Ruth to the N.Y. Yankees. He leads off with a grim account of this transaction, which started the curse that has plagued the Red Sox ever since. The sermon-like tone will amuse non-believers and comfort listeners who are certain the team is cursed. Like the ups and downs of Boston's play through the years, the narrator's voice fluctuates--exuberant and then despondent--in tone and tempo accurately reflecting the mood of any given baseball season. The narrator is very successful at conveying the emotional roller coaster ride Red Sox fans have endured as a result of the curse of the Bambino.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A perfect portrayal.
Nickel reads her imaginative picture-book biography of Hans Christian Andersen in a fairy-tale tone. She weaves the facts of the famous storyteller’s life together with a sense of whimsy, stressing rhythms and repetitions that captivate. It’s as if she embodies the storytelling spirit of the poor shoemaker’s son who possessed a nose “two times as long” and a heart “two times as tender” as everyone else around him. Nickel’s narration and writing are as inventive as Andersen, who, when rejected by theaters, dance studios, and choirs, created cut-paper characters while he told children his tales. The man who saw himself as an ugly duckling is finally admired as “the most beautiful swan of all.”
A perfect portrayal. (Picture-book biography. 5-7)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9798898851132
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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