Narrator Adriana Sananes's beautiful tone and accent artfully capture the true story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl. In 1930s Cuba—the island of music—playing drums was taboo for girls. Sananes portrays the spirited sounds of Zaldarriaga's brave quest to play the drums. Listeners will feel they’re privy to the girl's secret playing—until her father relents and hires a tutor. Sananes’s lively pronunciation of adjectives adds to the richly descriptive story. Marvelous sound effects of pounding on tall congas and tapping on small bongos as well as the clucking of chickens who make up Zaldarriaga's audience provide authenticity. Most gratifying is hearing the historical notes, which reveal that she gained critical acclaim as a drummer, even playing for President Franklin Roosevelt's birthday.
(Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: 2016
Duration: 11 mins
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ken Coleman's expertise as a baseball announcer enriches this history of the Boston Red Sox since the sale of Babe Ruth to the N.Y. Yankees. He leads off with a grim account of this transaction, which started the curse that has plagued the Red Sox ever since. The sermon-like tone will amuse non-believers and comfort listeners who are certain the team is cursed. Like the ups and downs of Boston's play through the years, the narrator's voice fluctuates--exuberant and then despondent--in tone and tempo accurately reflecting the mood of any given baseball season. The narrator is very successful at conveying the emotional roller coaster ride Red Sox fans have endured as a result of the curse of the Bambino.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This is a very brief introduction to the 6,888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of WWII. Jade Wheeler narrates with crisp enunciation, slow pacing, and buoyant admiration for the work of the Black women serving in the newly desegregated U.S. Army. Letters from home were a great morale builder for the troops. The Six Triple Eight was deployed in the U.S. and overseas to manage the sorting and delivery of millions of pieces of backlogged mail. Although more than 850 women served, 6 individual service members are named during the story. Wheeler delivers their names in a tone of respect. The credits are accompanied by 1940s-style jazz music. The PDF included contains a timeline, a glossary, and further reading.
(Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 11 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063459748
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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