Curtis returns to early-twentieth-century Canada in this companion novel to ELIJAH OF BUXTON. In alternating chapters, JD Jackson voices Benji, an aspiring reporter and lover of the woods, and Kirby Heyborne voices Red, an Irish boy who lives in neighboring Chatham. Both narrators deliver the boys’ self-assuredness with relish, as well as their fear of encountering the “Madman of Piney Woods,” but they shine most in the voices of the adult characters. Jackson terrifies listeners by detachedly recounting the horrors of the Civil War as the Madman. Heyborne delivers a pitch-perfect Irish accent in the voice of Grandmother O’Toole.The care in both portrayals brings depth to Curtis’s theme of the varying ways hardships can shape or damage human beings.
(Historical fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: 2014
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780804123112
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
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