Narrator Damany Jackson's voice pulses with energy and warmth as he channels the thrumming exuberance that fuels this picture-book biography of musician Muddy Waters. Jackson's exclamations and exhortations layer sound and movement onto Mahin's electric cadence, dovetailing seamlessly with illustrator Evan Turk's explosive mixed-media artwork. Music runs throughout the story, precisely fading in and out in order to illustrate different periods in Muddy's life and musical education. The introduction of a glass slide is accompanied by a smashing bottle, a discordance that is softened as that bottle begins to sing on the neck of the guitar. Fish fry, wring-out-your-worries blues music springs up, bubbling with joy and sadness and life. This production is more than a recording--it's a pitch-perfect multisensory listening experience, guaranteed to resonate with listeners of all ages.
(Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2018
Duration: 19 mins
DD ISBN: 9781974906864
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
A joyous, respectful introduction to the King of the Blues.
Bookended by a bluesy guitar riff, John Elbe’s resonant narration takes young listeners to rural, Jim Crow-era Mississippi to tell the story of the great B.B. King. In the sounds of a preacher's guitar and a blues-loving aunt's Victrola, little Riley B. King found music early: a $15 guitar he purchased at age 12 with money earned from picking cotton set him on his way. Elbe mimics the twangs of Riley’s guitar as the boy begins to master the instrument, his voice gathering power as the now-grown King’s career takes off. Duncan’s account smoothly backgrounds her subject’s climb to success with the realities of poverty and segregation. An accompanying PDF of the print edition’s backmatter provides a timeline and further resources.
A joyous, respectful introduction to the King of the Blues.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 16 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063459649
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
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