Lyrical music accents this poetic, poignant audiobook, which begins as Falasteen seeks to find her family's country on a map and finds she can't locate Palestine. Narrator Dalia Ramahi voices the girl's confusion, which leads her to speak to family members. Ramahi evokes her grandfather's steadiness as he draws an image-laden map, giving life to various locations. Ramahi reads the grandmother's sorrowful account of the painful history of Palestine. Tenderly yet strongly, Ramahi depicts the girl's mother as she explains that there are "places you don't need to find on a map" and that Palestine "lives in you and me." Ramahi weaves cultural elements gracefully into her narration and sensitively expresses the longing, hope, and strength that give Falasteen a sense of identity.
(Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
Duration: 9 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250365996
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ebner’s well-paced narration will engage listeners to the very end of this excellent audiobook.
Jeff Ebner's youthful, enthusiastic voice immediately pulls listeners into this fun-filled summer adventure. Eleven-year-old Felix and his neighbor, Marigold, find a mysterious wooden box that contains a field recorder and a coded message that subsequently sends them on a fantastically sound-filled scavenger hunt. The inclusion of actual sound effects—an ice cream truck’s jingle, a barking dog, bird song, and more—throughout the audiobook enhances the listening experience. The music, the voices, and the clues as Felix and Marigold run all over town are irresistible. The story’s conclusion features an unexpected reconnection.
Ebner’s well-paced narration will engage listeners to the very end of this excellent audiobook. (Mystery. 7-11)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217351961
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
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