Yu-Li Alice Shen portrays the tweens and adults who take part in the Boston-based Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience. Sewing enthusiast Phoenny Fang is determined to make her last year at overnight camp the most epic one yet. But a cliquey group of newcomers forces Phoenny's squad to be split up, the boy she likes keeps flirting with her rival, and hate speech from online trolls threatens the safety of the camp. To build relationships this summer, she will need to learn about Chinese American experiences different from her own. Shen delivers beautiful pronunciations of Chinese words, taking care to mess up inflections on purpose like some of the girls with less fluency. She is talented at capturing the enthusiasm and attitudes of tweens.
(Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593820544
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ebner’s well-paced narration will engage listeners to the very end of this excellent audiobook.
Jeff Ebner's youthful, enthusiastic voice immediately pulls listeners into this fun-filled summer adventure. Eleven-year-old Felix and his neighbor, Marigold, find a mysterious wooden box that contains a field recorder and a coded message that subsequently sends them on a fantastically sound-filled scavenger hunt. The inclusion of actual sound effects—an ice cream truck’s jingle, a barking dog, bird song, and more—throughout the audiobook enhances the listening experience. The music, the voices, and the clues as Felix and Marigold run all over town are irresistible. The story’s conclusion features an unexpected reconnection.
Ebner’s well-paced narration will engage listeners to the very end of this excellent audiobook. (Mystery. 7-11)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217351961
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
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