Truly Winnie
1 CD SET (see all formats)

"Jennifer Richard Jacobson's enjoyable beginning chapter book (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003) opens as Winnie and her dad pack for her first experience at summer camp. Although her friends Vanessa and Zoe will be there, motherless Winnie has always felt different from other girls. Her social angst increases when she discovers she is not assigned to her friends' tent. Her campmate's impressive equine themed cot, compounds Winnie's lack of confidence. She tapes up a self-portrait and places her threadbare puppet on her pillow. After returning from a successful swim test, Winnie meets Roxie, the horse enthusiast, who compliments Winnie on her drawing ability. But later at the mess hall, with its new customs and unfamiliar faces, Winnie's emotions overrule as she blurts that her mother is a famous artist. So begins her week of lies. Eventually her whoppers are discovered by Zoe and Vanessa, and by her father on visitor's day. The arts counselor becomes Winnie's champion, encouraging her to be herself. Listeners will relate to Winnie's anxiety while chuckling over her ballooning lies in this tale about camp life and making friends. Narrator Laura Hamiliton uses regional accents and seamlessly switches between character voices, Her renditions of the silly camp songs and chants make this audiobook a good choice for family car trips."

"This gentle chapter book highlights the challenges and delights of summer camp, where, as Winnie discovers, "you can be someone else for a while." Laura Hamilton's low-key narration explores the consequences of reinventing oneself. For example, Winnie capriciously decides to have her deceased mother become a famous-living-artist. Hamilton has a knack for creating a large and appealing cast of characters that includes kids and grown-ups alike. She invites listeners of all ages to consider whether "not telling" is the same as lying. Imbuing the production with a genuine summer camp ambiance, Hamilton shares chants, camp songs, and counselor names (like Spunky, Dolphin, and Picasso) that ring true to the ear."