Dowell's coming-of-age story of 12-year-old Jamie Dexter, whose brother is fighting in Vietnam, develops around her understanding of the war and its impact. Many well-developed characters support Jamie, including a card-playing soldier who fills the void her brother, T.J., has left. He helps her decode T.J.'s photographic letters, which juxtapose the beauty in nature with the brutality of war. Dowell's characters are brought to life in Jessica Almasy's reading. Her delivery helps the listener feel the characters' emotions, especially Jamie's, as she takes her journey of discovery, although her delivery makes Jamie sound wiser than her 12 years. Almasy delivers the character’s Southern accent consistently, and her pacing and cadence add credence to both the Southern setting and the time period.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant.
Samara Naeymi beautifully narrates this middle-grade novel about an Iranian American girl. Bullied by her classmates for her frizzy hair and thick eyebrows and criticized by her mother for her weight, Yasmin struggles to be her authentic self in a world that tells her she's not good enough. There are many different perspectives in this story, and Naeymi is true to each: Yasmin’s judgmental mother, with her Persian accent and steely belief in her own harsh parenting; the ruthless teenagers whose hurtful comments cause emotional harm; the younger brother concerned for his sister's unhappiness; and the tried-and-true best friend.
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798349114861
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
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