It’s hard to imagine a contemporary audience for Hilaire Belloc’s poems from the turn of the last century—unless it’s parents who want to terrorize their children with moralistic doggerel like “Matilda Who Told Lies, and was Burned to Death.” Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayers give an animated reading of these poems, trading lines and verses in a spirited dialogue. But if Belloc’s verses are satirical, that’s not coming through in this recording, which seems genuinely aimed at children rather than adults with a healthy sense of irony. The production is further hampered by the excessive repetition of a single musical phrase between verses.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2009
Duration: 1 hr
Publisher: CSA Word
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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