At 13, Koly finds that her childhood is over as she enters an arranged marriage that ends almost before it has begun. However, there’s no place for young widows in India, no opportunities, no hope. Sarita Choudhury, herself half-Indian and half-English, brings a lovely Indian cadence to her reading of this desperate, but ultimately hopeful, tale. Her first-person narration shines with the resourcefulness of a spirited and intelligent young woman cheated out of her dowry and forced to make her way alone in Vrindavan, the heartless and threatening city of widows. Choudhury’s differentiation of characters is subtle but effective: Koly's stiff and condescending mother-in-law; Sass, her impudent yet kind-hearted friend; and the take-charge Maa Kamala, who takes Koly in and starts her on the path to independence and a new life. This National Book Award winner will transport young listeners to another world.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 3 hrs, 15 mins
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: April 5, 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: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 4 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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