STORIES TO STIR THE IMAGINATION Volume 3

Allan Kelley has rewritten classic stories for children with mixed success. The narration has mixed success as well. Frances Kelley's voice is appropriately childlike for the various children in the stories. Kelley's Pandora expresses curiosity, frustration, and then horror at what she's done, and her boy who cried wolf conveys his boredom and the mischievous solution he finds for himself. "The Nutcracker," however, is difficult to follow, and the narration does little to clarify it. The best piece is "The Fisherman and his Wife," which is voiced to express the fisherman's frustration and growing concerns in contrast to his wife's demands and self-centeredness. Overall, this production is a mixed bag. W.L.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]