CHICKEN LITTLE

This production is a complete package; voice, illustrations, and music complement each other and provide an upbeat, memorable listening experience. As Ed Emberly mentions in the concluding interview, he and daughter Rebecca are “addicted to fun” and are rewarded when they “pass the fun on.” The fun begins with the illustrations of Chicken Little and his ditzy companions—all with bright cut-paper feathers and googly eyes. Walter Mayes uses his full vocal range as each “springing” and “boinging” creature responds to the declaration that the sky is falling. Name an emotion—incredulity, hesitation, hysteria, excitement—and Mayes gives it voice; loud, breathy, quavering, screeching, rasping—he does them all! Rollicking music underscores Mayes’s narration. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2011]