This family classic, loved and enjoyed now by two generations, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a remastered CD edition. The sound is clearer and perhaps a little more crisp, but E.B. White’s voice is the same--avuncular and with a twang of New England and New York. It may either delight or annoy listeners, but it’s White’s reading style that sets this program apart from current audiobooks. He’s reading the story to us, much as a parent would read to a child. He’s not an actor, and though the character voices he does attempt--Templeton, the rat, is my favorite--are good, it’s not a bravura performance. White simply shares his story so intimately that adult listeners notice every nuance of his sentences and his exquisite choice of words. For children the story of Wilbur and Charlotte will be sheer delight. Fresh as it was fifty years ago, White’s story still has the power to mesmerize and teach us great lessons of friendship and life.
Family ListeningPub Date: May 4, 2002
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Devon warmly depicts a quirky and loving family with his engaging performance.
Narrator Chris Devon returns for a bravura performance of this sweet, silly, and poignant second installment in Wood’s series. Seagull Gully and badger Septimus are busy raising their three chicks, and an already hectic household becomes that much more chaotic when a group of forest badgers comes for an extended visit. They want to dig a den where?! With his British accent and excellent pronunciation of Italian words, Devon immerses listeners in their various adventures and misadventures and conjures the many delights of the seaside town where they live. Gully’s dialogue consists exclusively of “Caw,” and Devon injects impressive variation and emotion into each utterance.
Devon warmly depicts a quirky and loving family with his engaging performance. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 2 hrs, 52 mins
DD ISBN: 9798349115998
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Bramhall embraces the storytelling tone that has built this series.
Mark Bramhall, who read the first two audiobooks in this series, now brings listeners the final installment in a satisfying conclusion. His narration shows his deep understanding of the characters—Orris, a rat, and Timble, an owl—as well as their unlikely friendship. He excellently executes grouchy Orris’ outward crabbiness and his more vulnerable interiority. Bramhall portrays young, patient Timble’s affection for the owl and his desire for Orris to experience the joy of flight with him. By the audiobook’s end, both flight and trust are achieved and the pair shares a new level of happiness. The final scene celebrates the magic these tales have brought to devoted fans.
Bramhall embraces the storytelling tone that has built this series. (Early chapter book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
Duration: 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593861905
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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