In alternating chapters, Emily Eiden delivers the mountain girl twang of 11-year-old Abby, a spunky delight from Harmony Gap, North Carolina, and Chuck Carrington renders the sure, steady voice of Abby's whip-smart Shetland sheepdog, Tam. We meet the pair as they win an agility championship on the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A truck accident on the way home separates them, leaving Abby in the hospital and Tam fighting for survival. Both narrators hold their own, so you're never left wishing you were in the dog's story instead of the girl's or vice versa. Listeners will be touched by the close (sometimes psychic) bond between girl and dog as their reunion is thwarted by nature, nasty humans, and Abby's often clueless parents. (But after seven months of struggle, you may begin to think "Home" should be retitled "Give This Poor Dog a Break.")
Ages 8+Pub Date: Feb. 4, 1969
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780449013878
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A classic story of high adventure and conflict between good and evil placed in the mythical land of Prydain, The Book of Three is read grippingly and enchantingly by Chris King. Vocal switches are mostly smooth with a few minor pronunciation slips which are quickly corrected. King's voice is clear, easy to understand and memorable, giving the listener a sense of the characters as well as a pronunciation guide to those incredible Gaelic names Alexander uses. Both the characters and the story linger in the mind's eye because of the quality of narration. This is surely a reading that can be listened to again and again and will leave the listeners asking for the entire Prydain series on tape.
AGES 8+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Posy Bates is back, this time with a dog left over from a pet show. Back also are baby Fred and her friend, Sam. But the star of the show is Posy herself, an energetic nine-year-old with a penchant for misadventure. Judy Bennett's rendering of each of the characters in this episodic family story is right on the mark. Her enunciation and impeccable timing clarify the idiomatic text so that its unusual words become another aspect of the book's pleasure. The irrepressible Posy is her greatest challenge, and Bennett gets high marks. She bubbles with enthusiasm, wails and squeals, and dies over and over again. "It's positively brilling!"
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 1 hr
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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