What better choice for read-along audio recordings than Easy Readers? New readers love to read along--and reading along builds confidence and reading skills. The key to success, of course, is to find superior stories and record them in kid-friendly ways with attention to the nuances of music, voice and sound effects found in the best audiobooks. Accolades go to Live Oak Media for doing just that! The subject is friendship in this Easy Reader read-along, a favorite with the kindergarten through grade two crowd; the audio format enhances the appeal. Lively music introduces the book and serves as an interlude for the titles with individual chapters. Sparse but judicious use of sound effects enhance the readings. The book is read with faultless pacing and voice and it escapes the inordinately slow narration and deliberate diction some read-alongs employ. Little brother Ant's charming supplications contribute to an appealing cast of characters. New readers and pre-readers alike will delight in listening to these favorite stories independently.
Ages 4-8Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 12 mins
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lemony Snicket, who became known for challenging listeners’ vocabularies in his Series of Unfortunate Events, chooses 13 seemingly random words and arranges them into the story of a “despondent” bird and a dog who tries to cheer his friend by visiting a “haberdashery” to buy a hat with “panache.” Michael Emerson’s intonations and phrasing allow listeners to picture characters and settings even without Maira Kalman's illustrations. He encourages listeners to savor the sounds of words as the author intended. Who wouldn’t buy a hat from a breathy sales-baby who describes “panache” as “a kind of verve or swagger”? In an amazing artistic interpretation, Snicket’s final word, “mezzo-soprano,” becomes an opera of the book, created by real-life composer Nico Muhly.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2010
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9781443404433
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Author and narrator Enrique Flores-Galbis is a master of duality in this nuanced story of the Cuban revolution. His writing and narration are superb. In both, his humble style of storytelling is arresting. When revolution comes to Cuba, Julian is just a boy. He doesn’t even know what a revolution is. In leaving Cuba and losing his family, Julian finds new ways in which he’s both vulnerable and strong. Flores-Galbis’s voice embodies the contradictions of Julian’s experience. We hear that vulnerability in a soft, almost hesitant, voice; underneath is a quiet confidence. The pacing ebbs and flows as naturally as the tide between Havana and Miami as Julian figures out what is right and determines to do his part to help.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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