Listeners are introduced to 12-year-old Dagmar, who is stuck in a tiny house in California's redwood forest with her father, stepmother, and 5-year-old half-brother, Santi. Narrator Kristen DiMercurio does a fantastic job of bringing several unique personalities to life. Young Dagmar expresses exasperation with pesky Santi, boredom with her summer of isolation, curiosity about the eccentric family that calls the forest home, and confidence when she finds a path through a wildfire. Santi has the whiny voice of a little brother desperate for attention. Spoiled rich boy Blake's voice loses its snottiness as he finds a way to be a friend. Vlad, Blake's "manny," brings comic relief with his accent and mangled English. This is a timely, entertaining story dealing with the environment, technology, and family dynamics.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: 2020
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593287965
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lyrical prose is the hallmark of this alliterative nonfiction ode to the earth's tropical, boreal, temperate, and kelp forests. Abigail Reno's narration is as soothing as the gentle music and nature sounds that accompany this top-notch production. In total, there are nine tracks, including the main story, the story with extra details, page-turn versions of each, and notes. The initial track is about 10 minutes, while the second has explanatory notes, for example, a discussion of a famed Japanese bamboo forest (complete with entrancing sound effects) and of Poland's enigmatic Bialowieza Forest, where all of the trees are in uniform "C" shapes. Reno's narration is equally compelling in the explanatory sections. Reno convincingly conveys the author's love and concern for the world's forests.
(Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 1 hr
DD ISBN: 9798225060497
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Chloe Cannon guides listeners through this exploration of how animals and plants survive wildfires. Cannon's tone is engaging and steady as she maps out the methods nature has developed over time for animals to detect and evade wildfires. In a sensitively handled chapter with a content warning, wildfire deaths, injuries, and recovery methods are discussed. The final chapters include details on the evolving science of firefighting and on conservation efforts like controlled burns and the use of domesticated animals to consume undergrowth. Though the narration is lively, it's sometimes choppy and hard to follow due to the inclusion of sidebars and "fire facts" from the print version, which are not clearly distinguished from the main narrative.
(Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 2 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798349105814
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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