To read or not to read A Series of Unfortunate Events ?
I have mixed feelings…but there’s more than one great way to experience the books. Read more…Fortunate? Unfortunate?
mystery
Audiobook review: The Star of Kazan
Title: The Star of Kazan
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Narrator: Patricia Connolly
Length: 10h 15m
Format: Full length story
Age group: 9+
When Sigrid and Ellie, maids for a family of Austrian musicians, find a baby abandoned at a small church among the Alps, they are utterly bewildered. They bring the foundling home to Vienna and eventually raise her as their own. All is well until Annika, now a young girl, unexpectedly inherits a box of costume jewelry, and a mysterious German aristocrat emerges claiming to be Annika’s long-lost mother. Read more…Audiobook review: The Star of Kazan
Out of the desert and into wonderland, thanks to Brian Selznick
Reading dry spells: Periods where nothing in the library entices, and the assigned books from school seem just another chore. Every reader has had those, and my boys have succumbed to them at various times. During one particularly arid spell, I was thrilled to discover Brian Selznick’s work on our public library shelves. These proved to be our ride out of the desert and back into wonderland. Read more…Out of the desert and into wonderland, thanks to Brian Selznick
Audiobook review: The Graveyard Book
Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Narrator: Full cast recording (Derek Jacobi, Neil Gaiman, Julian Rhind-Tutt et al)
Length: 7h 47m
Format: Full length story
Age Group: 10+
This is a superb, full-cast reading that brings to life a luminous book by Neil Gaiman. It is not for the faint-of-heart though. The book starts with a murder. While the murder scene is swift and more implied than described, it is quite scary. The lone survivor, a toddler, wanders into a nearby graveyard, where he is adopted by its otherworldly inhabitants and given the name Nobody Owens, or Bod for short. And from there the tale turns into a spooky, but absolutely enthralling, coming-of-age tale. Read more…Audiobook review: The Graveyard Book
Audiobook review: Nooks and Crannies
Title: Nooks and Crannies
Author: Jessica Lawson
Narrator: Susie Riddell
Length: 7h 27m
Format: Full length story
Age Group: 9+
Tabitha Crum has two great joys in her life: (1) talking to her pet mouse Pemberly, and (2) reading mystery novels featuring a wise, fictional mentor – Inspector Pensive. Otherwise, she is a lonely child, bullied at school and sadly neglected by her parents. But wait! Excitement is just around the corner. When Tabitha and five other children receive invitations to the home of a wealthy countess, Tabitha is plunged into a delicious, real-life mystery. Read more…Audiobook review: Nooks and Crannies
Audiobook review: Coraline
Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Narrator: Neil Gaiman
Length: 3hrs 36 mins
Format: Full length story
Age Group: 10+
Neil Gaiman’s voice is perfect for narrating this slightly sinister tale about Coraline Jones. New to town and bored, Coraline goes exploring her new home on a rainy day, only to unlock a mysterious door. Like some contemporary Alice going through the looking glass, there on the other side Coraline finds a mirror-image of her world. At first things seem so much better in this new world, but soon they become very strange indeed. Read more…Audiobook review: Coraline
Recent Comments