Gentle-voiced Soneela Nankani narrates the story of a yellow bus whose purpose changes over many years. It begins as a school bus and ends as an underwater structure. Throughout, listeners hear Nankani soothingly repeat the refrain regarding the bus's inhabitants: ". . . and they filled her with joy." Listeners will hear background music, traffic, giggling children, farm noises, and bubbling water. In one iteration, the bus presumably becomes senior citizen transportation, but this will be difficult for children to discern from contextual clues and sound effects. This may be the only flaw in an otherwise lovely audiobook, but it could also inspire a fun exercise to have children guess each evolution of the bus and then compare it to the picture book. Illustration notes are included.
(Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
Duration: 12 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250358967
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Marwan Salama captures the nautical adventures of Mabel, a mouse who lives a quiet life in a house belonging to a man and his young son. Mabel and the boy watch as the man carefully builds a model ship piece by piece, day after day, in the window of the house. Mabel dreams of being its captain and going on seafaring adventures. Finally, the man takes his prized model out for a sail on a lake. Salama adds the necessary drama to the narration, which along with the lovely musical interludes brings this story to life. Listeners, especially young sailors, will cheer on Mabel as she embarks on a daring sea voyage.
(Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
Duration: 10 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217171231
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Jacob McNatt has to get a bit cranky for this picture book featuring a crane named Cranky who builds a bridge with his friends, Zippy, Wheezy, and Dump Chuck. Automotive wordplay adds a sense of fun to this story of Cranky's sour mood. McNatt captures Cranky's disposition at once as he testily snaps at the merry morning greetings of his friends. During lunch break, McNatt switches gears to convey Cranky's lonely and tired inner voice. His friends' cheerfulness is getting on his nerves. Later, he briefly shouts at his friends as they try to discern the cause of his bad mood and cheer him up. In the end, as good friends do, they realize that sometimes, you're just cranky--and that's OK.
(Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063376816
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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