Graham Rowat’s lyrical performance is immediately engaging, a necessary thing, given the brevity of this book. His lively narration highlights the story’s historical details. Best of all, his sober yet whimsical tone is perfectly suited to this story about a small-town girl who creates her own brand of science after persevering in uncovering the facts behind stories of the creature known as the griffin. Rowat’s modulations convey Adrienne Mayor’s fascination with the natural world, stories, and Greek mythology, which led to her discovery of fossils and other evidence proving that the mythical eagle-lion hybrid, observed and documented by Scythians, was, in fact, related to the dinosaur.
(Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2015
Duration: 1 hr
DD ISBN: 9781490683614
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A disappointment.
Narrator JJ Hawkins gives voice to the hurt and anger eighth grader Jasper, an autistic trans boy, feels when his older brother goes off to college while Jasper channels his emotions into digging for fossils in the backyard. It can’t be possible…but then a saber-toothed tiger speaks telepathically to Jasper from beneath the earth. What could be cooler? Unfortunately, Gow’s free verse poems emphasize Jasper’s roiling emotions over plotting and pacing, with the result that listeners spend more time hearing how Jasper feels than they do experiencing the suspense of discovery and the excitement that ensues. Hawkins does his best to lend Jasper some nuance, but his efforts can go only so far with a character who is written as an exposed raw nerve.
A disappointment. (Verse fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798349108426
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Nic Davey-Greene delivers this environmental adventure. Listeners meet gamer and fast-food lover Finn and shy genius Milo, called "Prof," who are reluctantly participating in an Alpine class trip. They'd rather be home doing their own thing. Soon they find a 65-million-year-old egg that hatches. Vivid descriptions of Finn's connection to newly hatched, squawking Arty segues into horror as mercenaries attempt to kidnap him. Close behind them is Agent Lara from the British Natural History Museum, whose survival skills often save them. Davey-Greene captures Finn's hilarious expletives and his changing attitude as he nurtures Arty and comes to appreciate Prof's nonstop lectures. The riveting listen includes subtle lessons about nature, ecology, and kindness as we hear Finn and Prof change from couch potatoes to outdoor champions.
(Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: April 11, 2024
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781038670502
Publisher: Bolinda Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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