The audio format strengthens the setting of the first book in Wiles’s Sixties Trilogy. Emma Galvin narrates the convincing first-person story of 11-year-old “Army brat” Franny. Galvin expresses both Franny’s fierce exterior and her inner fears concerning her shell-shocked uncle, her secretive sister, and her fading friendship with her best friend, as well as the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Additional strength comes from the production’s periodic clips, which deftly portray the era: a recording of a Khrushchev speech, a static-filled BBC report, cartoon character quotes, bits of sixties songs, and the ticking of a movie projector as an announcer provides directions for how to “duck and cover.” These evocative auditory montages add to the authenticity of the setting and serve as social commentary that seems almost as important as the novel’s characters. S.W. 2012 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
Ages 10+Pub Date: 2011
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780307879660
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator P.J. Ochlan embraces this spirited novel, documenting 11-year-old Rocco Zaccaro's adventures with such gusto and spunk that you'd swear you'd traveled back in time to 1887. The story begins with Rocco's removal from his home in Italy and his subsequent arrival in New York City, where he is to work as a street musician for his new padrone, Signor Ancarola. Ochlan paints a vivid picture of immigrant life and the trials Rocco undergoes trying to escape the horrible living conditions under his padrone. Capturing the characters' voices perfectly, Ochlan delivers Rocco's animated storytelling, the slang of his newfound gang of pickpockets, and the accents of the city's many immigrants, whether Irish, Scottish, German, English, or Italian. Historical notes, including a pickpocket's glossary, complete this excellent production.
(Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: 2016
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780147521477
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
John McDonough tells the oddball story of Prince Roger and his misbegotten quest for self-identity and true love. The story is amusing and at times inspiring as it follows Prince Roger on a three-year sojourn through the Forever Forest and across the Dastardly Divide as he seeks to transcend his clownish nature and find his destined love, Princess Petulia. Younger listeners will be enchanted by the whimsy and fantasy elements of this fairy tale and by McDonough's gentle style, while adults will enjoy Feiffer's tongue-in-cheek writing, metafictional asides, and profound insights about destiny, identity, and living happily ever after.
Ages 8+Pub Date: 2001
Duration: 4 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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