Emily Eiden's narration captures the humor and relatable emotion in this nonpartisan audiobook about local politics and civic activism. Twelve-year-old Maddie is devastated when she learns that the lone candidate running for town mayor wants to cut school arts funding. After she persuades her babysitter, Janet, to enter the race, Maddie mobilizes a grassroots campaign at her middle school to help Janet get elected. With a youthful voice and a light touch, Eiden brings to life a group of passionate young campaigners fighting for what they believe in. In contrast, the self-important presumptive mayor's voice drips with condescension. Adding to the fun are interspersed word-bubble cartoons, which Eiden distinguishes from the main text with appropriate vocal variation.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
Duration: 4 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593344705
Publisher: Listening Library
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
Jeff Harding voices the many impactful moments of 1919 in this engaging nonfiction audiobook. From women activists fighting for the right to vote to the Red Scare and civil rights riots, Sandler draws parallels to today's social issues. Harding matches 1919's cadence with a forward-moving pace. He uses different accents for quotations, though the women and people of color might have been better served with a diverse cast. The asides and timelines that appear in the text also are in the audio. Full of fascinating stories put into a modern context, this audiobook offers much to learn about an eventful year and ponders the big questions of our current time.
(Nonfiction. 11-16)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2020
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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