The author's honeyed voice recounts her story of Keeper, a 10-year-old girl who rides a rowboat into the Gulf of Mexico to find her missing mother, who she's sure is a mermaid. Using an omniscient point-of-view that allows listeners to enter the minds of a cat, two dogs, a seagull, an elderly neighbor, and Keeper herself, Appelt mixes sea lore and family drama. The style is reminiscent of her animal-centric Newbery Honor winner, THE UNDERNEATH. Appelt aptly portrays a comical seagull who constantly calls "come on, come on," and means it. She also deftly portrays Two, the dog left behind, who encourages his humans with "yep, yep, yep" even when he wishes he could bark "nope, nope, nope." Full of flashbacks and gentle humor, this is a keeper.
Ages 8+Pub Date: May 18, 2010
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Atherton perfectly captures this enchanting return to Wonderland.
James constructs a new version of Wonderland and sends the original Alice’s granddaughter, Alyce, into it to solve the war between night and day. Narrator Kristin Atherton is magical. She creates distinctive voices and enhances the whimsy as Alyce meets the March Hare and the Mad Hatter as well as new characters—a friendly fox in a paper sailor’s cap and a caterpillar who is eating a Joyce book that he declares indigestible. Alyce must stop the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon; they keep turning the lights off and on without warning, making the stars disappear and confusing the cows. Atherton’s facility with the fanciful verse reminiscent of the original story is a particular delight.
Atherton perfectly captures this enchanting return to Wonderland.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
Duration: 2 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217080830
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
Narrator Michael Boatman is once again a master of vocal sound effects in this third installment of the Skunk and Badger series: the ErrrrrRRRRR of a rock tumbler tumbling, the scutch-scutch of snowshoes moving over snow, the Beed-el-LOO-bing! of a banjo being plucked. Raising two precocious young rats in Aunt Lula's brownstone, Skunk and Badger find themselves in way, way over their heads. And how is Badger going to get his article for ROCK HOUND WEEKLY finished with all of the distractions?! Boatman captures the mayhem in a high-energy, fully committed performance, differentiating the animal characters, emphasizing the many all-caps words and phrases, and using his voice to paint a picture of a family life that's chaotic, cozy, and loving.
(Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781649041180
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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