Thérèse Plummer energetically introduces this large multicultural, diverse family: two gay dads, two lesbian moms, and seven biological and adopted kids, each named after a tree. After winning Toronto's lottery, they change their last names to Lottery, buy a massive house, and decide to live a home-schooled, off-the-grid lifestyle, engagingly described by Plummer. She deftly creates varied personalities and accents--for example, MaxiMum's lilting Jamaican accent, PapaDum's Indian accent, and adorable kid and teen voices. Listeners will immediately hear their lives change again when PopCorn's father--called Grumps by the kids--comes to live with them. Plummer's standout creations are Grumps, with his wit and Scottish brogue, and 9-year-old Sumac, who tells this story and is at once charming and cunning. Audio is the perfect vehicle to capture this bevy of delightful characters.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781338119657
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12-year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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