Oh, to be in England. Or rather, oh, to have quotidian access to BBC4 radio productions such as "Cutting a Dash," the hit series about punctuation that inspired the hit book EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES. Thank goodness all six episodes are available as a classy audio production. Swinging jazz riffs introduce each segment; background noises color scenes set on city streets and in children's classrooms; and through it all, the crisp, humor-filled voice of comedy writer/literary editor Lynne Truss gives us permission to laugh aloud while being shocked, yes shocked, about the disastrous state of punctuation and grammar in the modern world. Notice my use of the semicolon, a punctuation mark that Truss has caused me to reconsider. I have learned that Greek dramatists gave the world the comma, colon, and period; that the second comma in that string is known as an Oxford comma; and that it incites much debate. I have also learned that society's overuse of the apostrophe may indicate its imminent demise. So, I plan to join Sticklers United to fight punctuation-imprecision and to play my copy of EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES until it wears out.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 1 hr, 9 mins
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lemony Snicket, who became known for challenging listeners’ vocabularies in his Series of Unfortunate Events, chooses 13 seemingly random words and arranges them into the story of a “despondent” bird and a dog who tries to cheer his friend by visiting a “haberdashery” to buy a hat with “panache.” Michael Emerson’s intonations and phrasing allow listeners to picture characters and settings even without Maira Kalman's illustrations. He encourages listeners to savor the sounds of words as the author intended. Who wouldn’t buy a hat from a breathy sales-baby who describes “panache” as “a kind of verve or swagger”? In an amazing artistic interpretation, Snicket’s final word, “mezzo-soprano,” becomes an opera of the book, created by real-life composer Nico Muhly.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2010
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9781443404433
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Author and narrator Enrique Flores-Galbis is a master of duality in this nuanced story of the Cuban revolution. His writing and narration are superb. In both, his humble style of storytelling is arresting. When revolution comes to Cuba, Julian is just a boy. He doesn’t even know what a revolution is. In leaving Cuba and losing his family, Julian finds new ways in which he’s both vulnerable and strong. Flores-Galbis’s voice embodies the contradictions of Julian’s experience. We hear that vulnerability in a soft, almost hesitant, voice; underneath is a quiet confidence. The pacing ebbs and flows as naturally as the tide between Havana and Miami as Julian figures out what is right and determines to do his part to help.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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