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"Mattie travels with her family as part of a magic act—but her family’s magic is real. ... Descriptions of the wonders of the circus and its performers shine. Zimmerman deftly portrays varied southern accents for the town locals. The Scottish accents for Mattie’s Da and Ringmaster Morough are distinct.... This story combines the appeals of a tween with real world problems—struggling with parental expectations and navigating new friendships—with a lush circus setting and the chance to oppose a magical menace." BOOKLIST

Starred Review" "...Gilbert delivers an extraordinary narration. She aptly voices the myriad emotions experienced by this grief stricken boy, varying his tone and pitch, often heartbreakingly. Equally, she succeeds in creating believable and fully fleshed-out characters by clearly differentiating among their voices, respecting gender and age and using authentic native dialect. Spot-on pacing of this thoughtful story solidly establishes a sense of time, allowing the listener to walk every step of this journey with Thomas until its beautifully hopeful end. Death and suicide are topics often tiptoed around, especially with young children. This affecting production may help to initiate important conversations." Booklist

Starred Review Julieta’s parents work in the world of art museums, and she is eager to accompany her father to Paris’ Louvre as he arranges the loan of art pieces for an exhibition in Boston. When the famed Regent Diamond is stolen, Julieta is in the middle of a high stakes mystery. With a bilingual family and international travel, the full cast portrays a range of accents, as well as phrases in Spanish and French, with panache. ... Underpinning the mystery are facts about Paris, art history, mythology, and culture. In other works, nonfiction asides can be dry, but here they are seamlessly woven into the plot and Julieta’s excitement for new knowledge is contagious to the listener. BOOKLIST

ALA Notable Children's Recording AudioFile Earphones Award "A full-cast production adds excitement to this story based on actual royal intrigue and murder in fifteenth-century England. The cast of five enhances the scenes, allowing the listener to hear lively conversations and bustling London streets. Moira Quirk excels as commoner Nell Gould, an unlikely lifelong friend of Prince Ned and his sisters. ..." AudioFile Magazine

". ...Lauren Ezzo’s melancholy tone reflects Loah’s yearning for her mother, whom she fears may love endangered birds more than her own daughter. Ezzo's unique character voices for the children and the adults who help Loah bring hope to this story about birds, friendship, and finding your true family. Springstubb provides an informative author’s note about the effects of climate change on birds." BOOKLIST

"Tavia Gilbert skillfully narrates this dark tale featuring two sisters in long-ago Poland, based on an 1862 poem by Christina Rossetti. ... Gilbert conveys Minka's illness by infusing her kind voice with a dreamlike detachment and portrays Lizzie with a lack of emotion. As the story progresses, Lizzie becomes more assertive but maintains her innate matter-of-fact tone. Gilbert also reflects Emil's mercurial temperament, speaking in enticing tones to Minka and to Lizzie with dismissiveness, disdain, and, finally, deadly menace. Haunting music during tense moments adds suspense." AudioFile Magazine