It’s a challenge to produce a successful audio experience of Newbery winner MOON OVER MANIFEST. It alternates between the years 1918 and 1936 in Manifest, Kansas, where 12-year-old Abilene Tucker has gone to live while her father works on the railroad in Iowa. Newspaper articles and letters from both decades contribute to this lyric story, which plays hopscotch with memory. The story’s characters have 21 different American accents. The complex result requires many production and narrative choices. Jenna Lamia’s bittersweet reading evokes Abilene’s uncertainty in her new home. Lamia also portrays Jinx and Ned with believable boy voices, and she handles the accents of Manifest with competency. Kirby Heyborne reads Ned’s letters in clear, unaccented prose. Cassandra Campbell’s voice is a little too well modulated for Hattie Mae’s journalistic fervor. Contemplative listeners will find Vanderpool’s gem brought to life with sensitivity. This review refers to Listening Library’s second audio edition.
(Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: June 28, 2011
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780307968159
Publisher: Listening Library
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
The plot, performances, and production are funny and engaging and make Pedro’s world feel vibrant and full.
This full cast audio rendition of a graphic memoir conveys the energy and brightness of that visual medium. The story recounts Pedro’s challenging but hopeful and humorous childhood as a migrant farmworker in the U.S., growing up with dreams of a life in the arts. Sound effects and musical interludes punctuate the narrative. Plates rattle as an earthquake shakes a restaurant, and birds sing in the bushes on a berry farm as Pedro’s family works. The animated performances by this large cast, especially the boyish voice of Oscar Emmanuel Fabela as Pedro, are perfect to hook preteen listeners—and adults, too.
The plot, performances, and production are funny and engaging and make Pedro’s world feel vibrant and full. (Graphic memoir. 10-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
Duration: 3 hrs, 38 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217349708
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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