Narrator Thérèse Plummer delivers an impassioned rendering of Helget’s adventure story, which starts out in 1850s Kansas. Scientifically minded Hallelujah Wonder, or Lu, inherits a shrunken head, which was collected on her father’s last naval voyage. Plummer will have listeners on pins and needles as Lu and her best friend, Eustace, a slave, make their narrow escape from the evil Captain Greeney, who attempts to steal the head to use for nefarious purposes. Awe, astonishment, fear, and incredulity pepper their voices as they journey to hide the head in Antarctica by train, and finally by whaling ship. The quiet, mesmerizing whisperings of the head—which only Lu, Captain Greeney, the mad whaling ship captain, and his first mate can hear—make for a spooky tale well suited to the audiobook format.
(Adventure. 8-13)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781478931270
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A classic story of high adventure and conflict between good and evil placed in the mythical land of Prydain, The Book of Three is read grippingly and enchantingly by Chris King. Vocal switches are mostly smooth with a few minor pronunciation slips which are quickly corrected. King's voice is clear, easy to understand and memorable, giving the listener a sense of the characters as well as a pronunciation guide to those incredible Gaelic names Alexander uses. Both the characters and the story linger in the mind's eye because of the quality of narration. This is surely a reading that can be listened to again and again and will leave the listeners asking for the entire Prydain series on tape.
AGES 8+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Posy Bates is back, this time with a dog left over from a pet show. Back also are baby Fred and her friend, Sam. But the star of the show is Posy herself, an energetic nine-year-old with a penchant for misadventure. Judy Bennett's rendering of each of the characters in this episodic family story is right on the mark. Her enunciation and impeccable timing clarify the idiomatic text so that its unusual words become another aspect of the book's pleasure. The irrepressible Posy is her greatest challenge, and Bennett gets high marks. She bubbles with enthusiasm, wails and squeals, and dies over and over again. "It's positively brilling!"
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 1 hr
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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