Narrator Robin Miles's vocal repertoire shines as she brings the Vanderbeeker world to life. Casting about for summer vacation activities, the four find refuge with their beloved upstairs neighbors and then witness a medical emergency. What can a 5-, 7-, 9-, and two 13-year-olds do to calm their fears and be helpful? As they alight on a plan to create a garden in a seemingly vacant lot, their resourcefulness and pluck swing into gear, and a widening group of neighbors both hinder and help in the work. Miles gives personality to each of the characters. Listeners will appreciate the spunk of the younger girls; the exasperation of the twins; the angst of Oliver, who feels responsible for the emergency; the respect of the once local bully; the gruffness of the building's landlord, and more. A listening treat.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2018
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781501966743
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12-year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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