What better choice for read-along audio recordings than Easy Readers? New readers love to read along--and reading along builds confidence and reading skills. The key to success, of course, is to find superior stories and record them in kid-friendly ways with attention to the nuances of music, voice and sound effects found in the best audiobooks. Accolades go to Live Oak Media for doing just that! The subject is friendship in this Easy Reader read-along, a favorite with the kindergarten through grade two crowd; the audio format enhances the appeal. Lively music introduces the book and serves as an interlude for the titles with individual chapters. Sparse but judicious use of sound effects--the hammerings and sawings of Mitchell building his house "two weeks away"--enhance the readings. The book is read with faultless pacing and voice and it escapes the inordinately slow narration and deliberate diction some read-alongs employ. Mitchell's husky orations contribute to an appealing cast of characters. New readers and pre-readers alike will delight in listening to these favorite stories independently.
Ages 4-8Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1998
Duration: 12 mins
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Reader Michael Prichard delivers a convincing rendition of Archie Goodwin, the burly right hand of the portly Nero Wolfe, world-renowned gourmand and detective. Prichard preserves the 1970s setting and 1950s origins of the story, bringing listeners a well-paced narration of murder and politics--a combination of elements that usually guarantees an exciting listen. This audio entertainment is as well formed and fragrant as one of Wolfe's hothouse orchids (the stout sleuth cultivates them by the hundreds in his town house greenhouse) as Goodwin walks us through an explosive murder investigation and political wheeling and dealing in a tough yet intelligent read.
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2006
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This collection of eight short stories contains gentle tales of fantasy and magic--not the magic of wizards and wands, but of wishing mats and enormous cats and gifts brought by the winds. In a lovely English accent, Lizza Aiken quietly narrates these stories in which magic and good fortune often come to those who deserve it. Although her pitch changes little, she registers a range of emotions--from the sadness of a girl whose necklace of raindrops has been stolen to the joy of a child who moves from a hard life and a ramshackle trailer to a happy home amid the clouds. A NECKLACE OF RAINDROPS would make a soothing choice for a family car trip after a long day.
Ages 6+Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
Duration: 1 hr, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101915721
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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