A lively narration by Olivia Campbell captures the voice of 12-year-old Daisy Bauer as she recounts the ingenious plot, thought up by her friend Graham, to bust her father out of prison. Campbell's youthful and highly modulated voice reveals Daisy's frustration with her home life. Conveying spunkiness rather than self-pity, Campbell captures a spirited girl as she comes to terms with the truth about her father. Her narration offers vivid portrayals of other characters as well, including Graham's lisp after he loses his front teeth and Grandma's churlishness. Despite some unclear transitions between characters during dialogue, Campbell's sensitive performance enhances a touching story about friendship and growing up.
(Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780553397024
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A sensitive performance.
Deepa is a precocious 12-year-old girl in remission from leukemia. Under the tutelage of her uncle, a house call doctor, she becomes involved in solving teen tennis player Taio's puzzling medical mystery. Deepa is unsure of herself, but she’s ready to get back to middle school after a year away for treatment. Narrator Soneela Nankani depicts Deepa's desire to be more than the "sick kid" while navigating her youthful insecurities and the social challenges of middle school. Nankani also ably portrays Deepa's growing confidence in herself as she uses her own experience with illness to help figure out what’s wrong with Taio.
A sensitive performance. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 32 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668182833
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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