Great music, sound effects--particularly of appreciative onlookers--and Marilyn Singer's spirited narration will have even the most confirmed non-dancer getting up to move to this music! Lively poems capture the beat of the dances described, inspiring beginners and more seasoned hoofers alike. Singer's lovely pronunciation adds atmosphere as she takes listeners to each dance's country of origin. Original music by Jonathon Roberts is the perfect addition to performances that range from hip-hop to the waltz, the square dance, and Bhangra. Singer closes with informative notes on the accompanying instruments and the traditions associated with each dance. For example, the hora is for Jewish celebrations, including bar and bat mitzvahs. Listeners will find her exuberant manner of counting beats delightful.
(Picture book/poetry. 6-11)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
Duration: 12 mins
DD ISBN: 9781524777173
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Joey Florez juggles the many facets of this audiobook. Depicting seventh grader Alex Ramirez, a neurodivergent student, Florez honors both the character and the verse format of the story. He gives his narration a definitive rhythm. Periodically, Ramirez uses fluid Spanish that reflects Alex's heritage and adds another rhythm to the narration. Alex has been in an SC (self-contained) classroom since a third-grade conflict landed a former friend in the hospital. Florez's narration reveals Alex's intelligence and curiosity, frustration with the limitations on his learning and with bullying, passion for space, and determination to escape his narrow bounds and enter a mainstream science class, his first step in attaining his dreams.
(Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217071289
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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