ALLY'S WORLD: FRIENDS, FREAK-OUTS AND VERY SECRET SECRETS

Karen McCombie has created a winning look at Ally's world in this fourth installment in her series. The tone is conversational, with Ally telling listeners about growing up minus her artist mother, who continues to travel around the world. Narrator Daniela Denby-Ashe demonstrates Ally's struggles as her best friend suddenly becomes clingy and copies everything Ally does. Denby-Ashe presents each member of Ally's family as true to life, including the kids, who all agree they'll hassle their single dad as little as possible. The duo of McCombie and Denby-Ashe shows that that sometimes a one-parent home is more stable than a traditional family. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 06]