Narrator Euan Morton faces, and conquers, a tough challenge in Boyne’s WWI story for young listeners. From the perspective of 5-year-old Archie Summerfield, Morton voices the confusion and dread of those on the London home front. Morton’s clearly adult voice is disconcerting at first but soon suits the character as Archie rapidly matures and contrives a secret mission to rescue his institutionalized father. Morton’s delivery of the horrors of trench warfare, as recounted by shell-shocked veterans in the hospital where Archie discovers his father, is heartrending. Equally compelling are the myriad voices of Archie’s London neighborhood whose denizens include a Hungarian shopkeeper, a brutalized pacifist, grieving mothers, and bewildered kids. Morton’s presentation will capture listeners of all ages as Archie tackles the war head-on from home.
(Historical fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: March 25, 2014
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781427236388
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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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