Gentle and evenly voiced Susie Berneis narrates the story of Benno the cat, who lives at 5 Rosenstrasse and observes all that happens on the street. A welcome visitor in the apartments in the building, Benno knows how Sophie Adler and Inge Schmidt spend their days at home, at school, and on the playground. He then sees changes taking place as brown-shirted men unsettle the peace of the street. Throughout, Berneis's voice is as quiet as the cat's paws--no raised pitch and no tone of alarm in her voice. Her pace slows such that listeners have time to question why such strange events would be happening--books burned, windows broken, people hurrying along with down-turned eyes, some stores open and some not. Adults will need to listen with children so that a discussion can be started about Benno, his world, and Kristallnacht.
Ages 6+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2015
Duration: 8 mins
DD ISBN: 9781633799271
Publisher: Dreamscape
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
Guy Lockard narrates the final episode in the Track series. This time the story focuses on the formative years of Coach, who's been central to the young runners in the previous titles. Back in the day, Coach was Otie Brody, a 12-year-old sprinter who longed for two things: to be like Carl Lewis and to have a pair of Jordans. Problems small and big enter his life: First, Otie accidentally shaves his forehead and eyebrows bloody; then his dad disappears due to a drug problem. Lockard balances lights and darks, humor and drama, authentic dialogues and evocative images in this fast-moving audiobook. His tour-de-force narration matches the power of a tough coming-of-age story that illuminates the compassion and caring of the man known as Coach.
(Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
Duration: 5 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668150566
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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