With even pacing and an impassioned tone, narrator Kate Rudd tells the tale of young Mup as her life falls into disarray soon after her auntie passes away. Witches from her mam's childhood attempt to capture her mam, now that she is next in line for the throne. When they fail to capture Mam, her dad is taken instead. Now Mup, her mam, and her younger brother must cross into Mam's childhood world to rescue him. Rudd brings the magical forest creatures that Mup meets in the new land to life by creating unique voices that embrace the emotions of the suppressed subjects. Listeners will cheer as Mup tries to reunite her family and return home.
(Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781978644359
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
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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