Books come from trees, but the trees themselves can tell us stories of their own if we know how to listen. Fittingly, I listened to part of this audiobook while sitting next to a campfire. Kaleo Griffith's narration is almost perfect for such a fireside chat. His straightforward yet conversational tone exactly matches the feel of the work. Author Daniel Lewis profiles a dozen trees, traveling the globe from Easter Island to the American West, from the Caribbean to Africa, offering up lessons in climate change, habitat preservation, and species survival. Visits to outdoor locales and indoor labs sound like inviting travelogs. Lewis is a science writer, not a scientist. So the book is written for lay listeners and adapts well to audio.
Pub Date: March 12, 2024
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797172835
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While Tapper is a hortatory narrator of his own work, his audiobook deserves to be heard.
Tapper’s hopeful tone separates this audiobook from gloomier environmental writing. According to Tapper, forests can be managed, species can be saved, and we can embrace the wonders that remain. While recognizing the loss of species and habitats and threats to the environment due to climate change and other factors, he points out how resilient trees and animals are. And he knows what he’s talking about. A longtime professional forester, Tapper is also a dedicated birder who restored 175 desolate acres in Vermont. He dubbed it Bear Island, and it’s now a thriving forest with an emerging orchard.
While Tapper is a hortatory narrator of his own work, his audiobook deserves to be heard.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 22 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668660348
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
This gentle work celebrates the butterflies of Denmark and the beauty that is the natural world.
Like the subjects themselves, this catalog of Danish butterflies is a delicate and vocally colorful experience. Listeners expecting a kind of field guide to butterflies need to be prepared for much more. The author writes about the 64 species native to her home country of Denmark and her quest to see them all in one year, but the real focus is almost a love song to the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Ela Lee’s narration exactly suits the material. She keeps her voice soft but not somnolent. Her pace and tone allow the author’s words and emotions to sink in. A welcome addition to this audiobook would have been a PDF of the 64 hand-drawn illustrations of the butterflies themselves.
This gentle work celebrates the butterflies of Denmark and the beauty that is the natural world.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 41 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217406722
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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