Narrator Jesse Vilinsky brings listeners into the months leading up to the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Ileana's life is in danger in the city, so she is sent to live with her grandparents. With the Socialists in power, anyone Ileana knows could be spying for the government, even in her grandparents' agrarian village. What gets Ileana through the day is stories; she loves writing them from scratch or fixing the endings she doesn't like in folktales. Vilinsky depicts Ileana's penchant for storytelling with an effervescence that lends itself to the magical realism in the story. Inexplicably, Ileana's accent seems American, while most characters sound Romanian. Still, this powerful audiobook will please fans of historical fiction and fantasy alike.
(author’s note) (Historical fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797100203
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
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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