To "snark" is to sneak out when your parents are asleep and go to the Snark Theater or another Baconburg night spot. Whimsical music immediately draws the listener into this tale, in which all adults are weird or incompetent and the teenagers save the town. Pinkwater's strong writing skills carry his breathy narration. He employs little vocal inflection and supplies nothing to distinguish the individual characters, but his words paint a vivid picture of the town and its denizens. His speech is rapid, adding a sense of urgency as his plot unfolds. Originally written in 1984, some references are dated, but this offering will still hold strong appeal, especially for middle-school boys with a taste for the bizarre.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1995
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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