BLOOD RED HORSE
GREEN JASPER
BLAZE OF SILVER K.M. Grant
Read by Maggie Mash (Recorded Books)
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Gr. 6+

BLOODY JACK
CURSE OF THE BLUE TATTOO
UNDER THE JOLLY ROGER L.A. Meyer
Read by Katherine Kellgren (Listen & Live)
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BROOKLYN BRIDGE Karen Hesse
Read by Fred Berman (Macmillan Audio)
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DAY OF TEARS Julius Lester
Read by an ensemble cast (Recorded Books)
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THE DEATH COLLECTOR Justin Richards
Read by Steven Pacey (Listening Library)
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GODDESS OF YESTERDAY Caroline Cooney
Read by Christina Moore (Recorded Books)
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HITLER YOUTH Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Read by Kathrin Kana (Listening Library)
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THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET Brian Selznick
Read by Jeff Woodman (Scholastic Audio)
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JAZZ Walter Dean Myers
Read by James "D-Train" Williams, Vaneese Thomas (Live Oak Media)
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THE JOURNEY OF THE ONE AND ONLY DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Judith St. George
Read by Jeff Brooks (Weston Woods)
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With sass and song, Katherine Kellgren portrays Jacky Faber as schoolgirl and part-time tavern performer. Fighting off pirates in BLOODY JACK barely prepared Jacky for the battles she faces after being given the heave-ho as midshipman on the HMS DOLPHIN, losing her true love, and being sent to a Boston boarding school. Kellgren's terrific portrayal of Jacky's reluctant transition to finishing school extends to the cast of snobbish classmates, low-life Bostonians, sailors, prostitutes, a creepy constable, and a mad minister who is a descendant of Cotton Mather. Jacky's endless propensity for trouble leads the listener on a rollicking journey through 1800s America with the promise of more to come as she boards a whaling ship at novel's end. D.P.D.

ACROSS FIVE APRILS Irene Hunt
Read by Terry Brégy (Audio Bookshelf)
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Gr. 6+

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Jules Verne
Read by Jim Dale (Listening Library)
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Gr. 6+

CHARLOTTE'S WEB E.B. White
Read by E.B. White (Listening Library)
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Gr. 3+

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING,
THE TWO TOWERS,
THE RETURN OF THE KING J.R.R. Tolkien
Read by Rob Inglis (Recorded Books)
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Gr. 6+

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Ernest Hemingway
Read by Donald Sutherland (Simon & Schuster Audio/Recorded Books)
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Gr. 9+

PETER PAN J.M. Barrie
Read by Jim Dale (Listening Library)
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Gr. 4+

Take a well-read classic filled with larger-than-life characters and pair it with a master narrator. Voilà--you've got a brand-new classic. Alfred Molina's narration is like pulling up a chair next to a fire on a chilly night and being chilled all over again by Stevenson's tale of piracy on the high seas. Molina's portrayals are perfection. He's a careful observer in his depiction of young Jim Hawkins and just as easily becomes mild-mannered Dr. Livesey, blustery Squire Trelawney, and unctuous, rebellious Long John Silver. Nonstop action and suspense make this a perfect listen for all family members, who may begin to chime in with the many "yo-ho-hos." S.W.

AIRBORN
SKYBREAKER Kenneth Oppel
Read by David Kelly and the Full Cast Family (Full Cast Audio)
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THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND,
THE GOLEM'S EYE,
PTOLEMY'S GATE Jonathan Stroud
Read by Simon Jones (Listening Library)
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THE BEASTS OF CLAWSTONE CASTLE Eva Ibbotson
Read by Jenny Sterlin (Recorded Books)
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THE CABINET OF WONDERS Marie Rutkoski
Read by Lorelei King (Macmillan Audio)
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CORALINE Neil Gaiman
Read by Neil Gaiman (Harper Audio)
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Neil Gaiman is one of the true gems in the audio industry. He's a great writer who not only reads his own work well, but makes the listener reject any thought of having another narrator in his stead. Gaiman communicates his understanding of his own stories and characters from beginning to end. In this latest of Gaiman's clever, dark fantasies, an orphaned boy is raised by ghosts in the local graveyard. Gaiman gives each specter a different--and wholly appropriate--voice, but he doesn't stop there. He even goes so far as to change a character's accent ever so slightly after she comes back from years and years abroad. Best of all, Gaiman performs a shift of character voice that is an absolute showstopper when he reveals the villain. Really--it made this listener stop dead on her walk home in dreadful anticipation. A.A.

BINDI BABES, BOLLYWOOD BABES Narinder Dhami
Read by Nina Wadia (Listening Library)
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BUDDHA BOY Kathe Koja
Read by a Full Cast (Full Cast Audio)
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CLEMENTINE Sarah Pennypacker
Read by Jessica Almasy (Recorded Books)
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COLIBRÍ Ann Cameron
Read by Jacqueline Kim (Listening Library)
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At birth, Arnold "Junior" Spirit survives brain surgery but he wonders if he will survive the Spokane Indian reservation, where he lives. The teasing about his lisp and stuttering is worse than the poverty and alcoholism that surround him. Rather than risk intellectual death, he transfers to a white school, where he and the school mascot are the only two Indians. The author's rhythmic reading brings out the lyricism of his writing. Like his hero, Alexie has a storyteller's voice: "that singsong reservation accent that made everything I said sound like a bad poem." Conversations are written with humor and verve, and delivered with punch and enthusiasm. The author's performance experience is clear in his pacing—from the slow, subdued style at a family funeral to the breakneck speed of a climactic basketball game. S.W.