Lesa Cline-Ransome's biography for beginning readers about Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax and his most famous musical invention, the saxophone, cooks with rhythm and swing as narrated with aplomb by Cary Hite. Hite's baritone is smooth, warm, and well suited to this text as he shares the origin and bumpy path to acceptance of the saxophone by musicians worldwide. The story picks up energy once it arrives in New Orleans, where the saxophone makes jazz music coalesce and inspires a long string of saxophone players. After the audiobook opens with a short riff by an alto saxophone, a fuller musical soundtrack runs under the text, morphing to match either the composer or the musical style being described at the time. A charming lesson for music appreciation students.
(Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: 2023
Duration: 10 mins
DD ISBN:
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date:
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date:
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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