Saturday, August 20, 2011

Not Your Average Audiobooks



We have some impressive new audiobooks. What makes these two special? Not only are these engaging stories, but they are read by award winning actors! Here are reviews of two hot new titles that explain just how amazing they are. Come check them out @ the library!



The True Meaning of Smekday
by Adam Rex


read by Bahni Turpin



Get ready to laugh out loud while enjoying a rollicking road trip starring a wisecracking alien and an eighth-grader with attitude who join forces to save the world. Twelve year-old Gratuity "Tip" Tucci is assigned to write an essay that explains the significance of the day that aliens took over earth. She tells about rescuing her mother, kidnapped by space-invading extraterrestrials (the Booy), and reluctantly joining a renegade alien named J.Lo. Turpin channels Tip's sassy sparkle, conjuring the youngster's personality and natural tweenspeak style, sending Tip's voice right into your ear buds. But wait! Without a pause, Turpin miraculously morphs into mangled alien-accented English, complete with an oddball cadence of throat tics and tongue clicks, to bring forth J.Lo's fidgety self right into your brain. The result is pure entertainment, as Tip and J.Lo banter back and forth in stereo, taking listeners along for the ride. - Mary Burkey



The Emerald Atlas
by John Stephens




read by Jim Dale




Wizards, dwarfs, enemies, witches, and more appear in this fantasy story, impressively read by Dale, well-known to listeners as the impeccable voice of the Harry Potter titles. Fourteen-year-old Kate and her younger siblings, Emma and Michael, have grown up in a series of horrible orphanages. But after they find a mysterious book, in which Michael tucks a historic photo, the children are transported 15 years in the past. In a quest to save the town, which is held captive by an evil witch, the children embark on a dangerous journey that tests their courage and resolve. Not surprisingly Dale's British-laced reading is masterful. He handles a multitude of characters with skillful panache, altering accents, pitch, and vocal texture, with seamless consistency. Dale's facility at differentiating characters allows listeners to easily follow the complex plot and shifts in time and place. With Dale reading this satisfying first title in a proposed fantasy series, expect high demand. -Lynn Rutan

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