J. Davis

Another delightful adventure with Hank!

Revisado: 02-22-22

Hank finds himself stranded in the city of Twitchel, befriended by Dog Pound Ralph, who takes the Head of Ranch Security on a "fling." Can Hank stay out of trouble? Will he make it back home? It's all classic Hank fun, read by the author with aplomb.

There is an odd thing with the audio book in which the final chapter is repeated.

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A fun remake of an old time radio classic

Revisado: 12-23-21

I was first introduced to The Cinnamon Bear four years ago and enjoyed it. So I was pleasantly surprised to see Audible was releasing a remake.

The original is very much in the vein of Alice in Wonderland and the Oz books, especially the ones by Ruth Plumly Thompson, which would've been the latest titles in 1937. It's a loose series of misadventures with a linking thread of a search for an item. In both versions, siblings Judy and Jimmy are brought to the fantastic world of Maybeland to recover their Silver Star tree topper, which changes hands many times before they finally bring it home.

The episodes are largely the same and delightful in both versions, it's mostly in the last four episodes in which there's some big variations, creating a more epic conclusion. In the new one, some episodes were combined, some characters were dropped for time, some have swapped genders in the new version, creating more female characters than the original. Some were dropped due to our changing culture. Not just outdated stereotypes, but also things that just wouldn't land with today's children.

Judy and Jimmy have a more cynical edge and so does the narrator. It's generally more self aware than the original, which might put some people off. I enjoyed it, especially the new cast.

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The surprising origin of Julie Andrews

Revisado: 03-30-21

I've long enjoyed films starring Julie Andrews and was interested in hearing her tell about her life. This exceeded my expectations. If you thought Julie was born into a well to do family and had a rosy childhood, prepare to have your illusions shattered and enjoy as Julie, in her own words, tells you about her childhood and early career, ending just before she began filming Mary Poppins.

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Oh, hai Mark!

Revisado: 11-08-20

Greg Sestero takes us inside The Room, the best worst movie ever, based on his life and friendship with director Tommy Wiseau. Greg gives us an unapologetic view of his life as an actor and the making of the movie. He also performs the narration well, including taking on the character of Tommy through his own eyes.

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Ramona grows up...

Revisado: 06-06-20

Ramona Quimby debuted in the Henry Huggins series as the younger sister of his friend Beezus. she was depicted as a mischievous brat who was actually just a young kid who got into a lot of trouble. So she became the star of a spin-off.

The first book in this collection is different from the rest as it focuses on Beezus and the stress of having Ramona as a little sister and how it's okay to have feelings about it that feel wrong sometimes.

The second book sees Ramona become the focus as she tries to learn how to handle kindergarten through several whimsical misadventures. We begin to appreciate Ramona as a flesh and blood child, setting up her development through the rest of the series.

As the series continues through six more books, Ramona grows, taking her through third grade. Her family expands the house, she deals with troublesome kids at school and makes new friends, her parents have problems with employment and eventually welcome a new baby to the family.

What makes these stories great is how Beverly Cleary writes them. She speaks from Ramona's train of thought, giving us her perspective without using a first person voice. She captures what kids worry about and how they think.

Stockard Channing gives a great performance of the stories. I used to listen to many of these as a child on audio cassette from the library and much of my memories of them are linked to her reading. She doesn't make Ramona sound cute, she sounds like a kid (admittedly, an adult performing as one).

This is great for kids and adults who still appreciate literature for kids. (And a bargain to get with an Audible credit!)

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It's Henry Huggins, what more could you want?

Revisado: 05-22-20

I got this one to have some nostalgia as I used to read and listen to Beverly Cleary's Henry Huggins and Ramona stories. All of the Henry stories plus two segments from the author herself made this a great package. Neil Patrick Harris reads most of them with William Roberts reading the second book. Both do great performances, nailing these characters just right.

Henry Huggins is about a boy who learns to take on more responsibilities throughout the series. First he adopts a dog, Ribsy, then decides he wants to buy a nice new bike. Later, he makes a wager with a friend before trying to get a paper route. Henry learns to balance all of his responsibilities as he and his friends build a clubhouse. In the final story, Ribsy gets lost and wanders around town before finally being reunited with Henry.

These are charming, delightful stories for all.

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It's something like Peter Pan...

Revisado: 04-09-20

I was not impressed. I first fell in love with Barrie's language in the original Peter and Wendy novel from an audiobook read by a single narrator. I picked up this one when it was free to Audible subscribers.

I'm not sure why they decided to move the story into WWII time when the format of an audio drama means it could sound timeless without setting it in any specific time period. Other reviewers state that this was done to write out Mr. Darling, but Mr. Darling is classically played by the same actor as Hook. So why this wasn't repeated here is puzzling.

There's a lot of additions near the beginning, giving Mrs. Darling a past with Peter. I'm not sure if this is inspired by Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, but it feels contrary to the idea that grown ups forget about being childish. It also just delays getting to the main story.

The performances have one major issue. The characters are all speaking very loudly as if they're trying to be sure the microphone picks them up. I've heard amateur audio dramas sound better. There's also no narrator, so the characters talk about what's going on, but sometimes the details they're describing is far too much to believe that these are what people would actually say.

Bit of a spoiler, but if you're wondering if this contains the flash forward to the future in which Peter meets Wendy's daughter Jane, it's not here, instead being replaced by the new Mrs. Darling plot. This robs Wendy of her plot of becoming a better grown up by basically giving that to her mother.

I won't complain much about making Tiger Lily the leader of "The Lost Girls" instead of an "Indian" princess. The depiction of native peoples wasn't great in the original, I can admit. But Peter says that "girls are too proper to fall out of their prams," so where did these girls come from? If you change the mythology of the story, make sure the logic holds up.

Get yourself a recording of the original novel instead of this if you want an audiobook of Peter Pan.

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Old time style radio with brand new stories

Revisado: 02-26-16

Powder River is a Western radio drama in the style of Bonanza and Gunsmoke, but has great pace and performances by the Colonial Radio Theater.

Brett McMasters and his son Chad have just moved to a ranch near Claremont, Wyoming, bringing secrets with them that unfold throughout the first season. With a great supporting cast of characters, Powder River will be an adventure you'll enjoy and want to listen to.

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