In this quiet story set in the rural South of the 1950s, narrators Kate Simses and Todd Haberkorn bring this period of racial intolerance into sharp focus. Eleven-year-old Azalea reluctantly spends her summer helping out her injured grandmother, whom she barely knows. Though painfully shy, Azalea befriends Billy Wong, who helps run his Chinese family's grocery store. Azalea's voice is soft yet nervous while Billy exudes confidence and determination. Azalea's narrative is interspersed with Billy's thoughts and lists. Though Todd Haberkorn's voice for Billy's interludes is different from the rest of Billy's dialogue as delivered by Simses, the discrepancy doesn't detract from the whole performance. Simses's portrayal of Azalea's grandmother is exactly what you'd imagine--a mixture of comfort, warmth, and kindness with a hint of sadness.
(Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
Duration: 4 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781338051070
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
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
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant.
Samara Naeymi beautifully narrates this middle-grade novel about an Iranian American girl. Bullied by her classmates for her frizzy hair and thick eyebrows and criticized by her mother for her weight, Yasmin struggles to be her authentic self in a world that tells her she's not good enough. There are many different perspectives in this story, and Naeymi is true to each: Yasmin’s judgmental mother, with her Persian accent and steely belief in her own harsh parenting; the ruthless teenagers whose hurtful comments cause emotional harm; the younger brother concerned for his sister's unhappiness; and the tried-and-true best friend.
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798349114861
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
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