Listening to Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry is truly a delight. Narrator Dion Graham reads the poems to perfectly mirror their intended tone—each poem interspersed in the biographical narrative is given its own lyrical performance. Bahni Turpin expertly delivers the voice of the grandma, who inspired the author to research and write Paul’s story. Her conversational tone, aimed directly at listeners, draws the audience close and creates an authentic storytelling experience. Dunbar’s life is fascinating, and even the author’s notes are well worth a listen. E.A.B. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
(Biography. 9-12)Pub Date: 2015
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781491502853
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
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: 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Mack Gordon embraces the anger and frustration of seventh-grader Finn, whose father, a 9/11 hero, died during the Covid pandemic. Gordon reserves especially intense sarcasm for Finn's overdue poetry assignments and his attitude toward the reparation he must perform for vandalizing a notable hiking trail: In one summer he must hike 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Gordon's narration captures the many poetic and visual elements of the text, along with the accompanying photographs. He makes sure his tone communicates the changes in Finn's attitude, which ranges from sulkiness to vulnerability and grief, and finally to memories of his father and a recognition of his own connection to nature.
(Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 4 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781547616411
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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