[Editor's Note: This is a combined review with THE FARMER'S WIFE.]--Afghan author Idries Shah has been writing stories that draw on literature from Afghanistan and Central Asia for over thirty years. These two stories, called teaching stories, will delight children and please adults, too. In the first, an old woman who believes an eagle is really a pigeon gives the bird a humiliating make-over. In the second, a farmer's wife looks for increasingly fantastic ways to retrieve an apple from a hole. Children will love listening to these CDs while viewing the handsomely illustrated hard covers, and all listeners will appreciate the narrators' willingness to engage in a storytelling tradition: Deb Bluford playfully creates the voices of the old woman and the eagle, while Jeannie Blau creates a wonderfully indignant farmer's wife, as well as the host of naughty characters who disobey her. These texts are a wonderful way to bring another culture's insights and stories into your home.
Ages 4-6Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 15 mins
Publisher: Hoopoe Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lemony Snicket, who became known for challenging listeners’ vocabularies in his Series of Unfortunate Events, chooses 13 seemingly random words and arranges them into the story of a “despondent” bird and a dog who tries to cheer his friend by visiting a “haberdashery” to buy a hat with “panache.” Michael Emerson’s intonations and phrasing allow listeners to picture characters and settings even without Maira Kalman's illustrations. He encourages listeners to savor the sounds of words as the author intended. Who wouldn’t buy a hat from a breathy sales-baby who describes “panache” as “a kind of verve or swagger”? In an amazing artistic interpretation, Snicket’s final word, “mezzo-soprano,” becomes an opera of the book, created by real-life composer Nico Muhly.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2010
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9781443404433
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Author and narrator Enrique Flores-Galbis is a master of duality in this nuanced story of the Cuban revolution. His writing and narration are superb. In both, his humble style of storytelling is arresting. When revolution comes to Cuba, Julian is just a boy. He doesn’t even know what a revolution is. In leaving Cuba and losing his family, Julian finds new ways in which he’s both vulnerable and strong. Flores-Galbis’s voice embodies the contradictions of Julian’s experience. We hear that vulnerability in a soft, almost hesitant, voice; underneath is a quiet confidence. The pacing ebbs and flows as naturally as the tide between Havana and Miami as Julian figures out what is right and determines to do his part to help.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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