LEAPING BEAUTY And Other Animal Fairy Tales

In his first narration of his own work, Gregory Maguire whips up an array of clever voices for the cast of creatures in LEAPING BEAUTY. Written for the 8-12 set, this collection of fractured fairy tales puts seven giraffes in the place of the seven dwarves, a horrid skunk in the role of the evil stepmother, and three irresponsible penguins where three pigs once played. Maguire thoroughly enjoys himself on this collection as he plays for laughs. His timing and character voices are pitch-perfect for the text. Some listeners may tire of the constant ringing irony of the text, but will enjoy pieces like "Little Red Robin Hood," in which Maguire's wit is not so sardonic. K.C. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 04]