Sura Siu narrates this fantasy featuring gods and creatures from Japanese religions and folklore. Pearl-diving twins Kai and Kisha become separated when a ghost whale swallows Kisha. The Dragon King befriends Kai and starts her on a supernatural quest to save her sister. Siu creates a pensive Zen mood with a slow, soft speech pattern. She individualizes the characters with attitude rather than distinct voices. Through words and tone, the listener hears that Kai is impulsive, brave, and proud. When she meets up with the mysteriously reserved bandit Ren, the listener will be swept away by the magic and adventure of an ancient Japanese fantasy world rooted in traditional stories. A map, list of sources, and glossary are downloadable.
(Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063238220
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sanderlin brings gravitas to the story’s most serious scenes while adding humor to its frequent moments of whimsy.
Mark Sanderlin tells this middle-grade story as the Royal Chronicler, an unnamed adult at an entertaining scholarly remove from the adventures of the main characters. Eleven-year-old Olly leaves his younger sister, Jenny, at home when he reluctantly goes out to find work, a necessity for kids in their struggling community. Their bleak reality becomes more colorful when Olly’s first job ends up being at a secret refuge for endangered dragons, and when Jenny develops magical powers. As they stumble into a quest to save the fantastical species, Olly and Jenny’s dialogue sounds convincingly kidlike, a nice contrast with the chronicler’s news anchor-style delivery of the rest of the prose.
Sanderlin brings gravitas to the story’s most serious scenes while adding humor to its frequent moments of whimsy. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs, 24 mins
DD ISBN: 9798898850296
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
A futuristic tale that illustrates the uncertain boundaries between humanity and technology.
This middle-grade audiobook is full of robots, and Ferdelle Capistrano’s performance of their voices, while carefully portraying them as not-quite-alive, is still lively and never dully mechanical. Entrenched inequality, unchecked corporate power, and rapid technological change are all threatening forces in this setting, but even the darkest moments of the story are delivered in a bright, kid-friendly way. Capistrano adjusts her tone to distinguish the dialogue of kids, adults, and machines; some of the adults’ voices are a bit cartoonish in their villainy or well-meaning cluelessness.
A futuristic tale that illustrates the uncertain boundaries between humanity and technology. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 3 hrs, 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063485983
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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