A musical introduction sets the stage as narrator Kevin T. Collins transforms the dreary, tired Warren Hotel into a site of animated and magical chaos. Twelve-year-old Warren, who practically runs his family’s business, must whip both the hotel and its high-maintenance staff into shape for the sudden arrival of peculiar guests. Collins savors his performance with long, drawn-out sounds that create a mood of mystery. Warren’s cheery, sometimes blustery uncle is vocally contrasted with his witchy and aptly named Aunt Annaconda, who has a cutthroat obsession with finding the “all-seeing eye.” Pitch and volume changes that capture the characters’ perilous predicaments as well as Aunt Annaconda’s devilish cackles are highlights of Collins’s delightful performance.
(Light horror. 11-13)Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2015
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781511322751
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners can expect fantasy at its silliest, with humorous voices to match.
Daniel Henning narrates this middle-grade fantasy with a dose of zaniness. Henning creates individualized voices for a cast that includes Adelbert, the forgetful magician; an irritable king; a host of royal attendants; a curmudgeonly, wish-granting tree; and the heroine, Bernadette the Brave. Bernadette is a kind, soft-spoken girl who is “hired” (kidnapped) to serve as keeper of the 24 goats upon which the king’s castle improbably rests. As the story's narrator, Henning is humorous and conversational, recounting Bernadette and Adelbert’s quest to rescue the turtle, Perseverance. This fun romp is completely out of order, beginning in Chapter 13, and dotted with morals, Latin, and the bleating of goats.
Listeners can expect fantasy at its silliest, with humorous voices to match. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 35 mins
DD ISBN: 9798899737732
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
Hamilton excels at grounding listeners while channeling the novel’s whimsy and mystery.
Nikola Hamilton’s narration anchors listeners as 12-year-old Roman tries to understand his complex family history. With a comforting frankness, Grandpa Henry tells Roman fantastical stories, like the tale of his own victimization by the Toe Beast, a creature grown from his amputated toe. This leads to other stories featuring a curious girl and her pack of dogs and a bucket that makes time travel possible. In the past, these stories frightened Roman, and Hamilton’s narration reflects Roman’s growing courage—until he finally travels through time in order to decipher strange symbols and secrets.
Hamilton excels at grounding listeners while channeling the novel’s whimsy and mystery. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 57 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217280537
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: tomorrow
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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