BIRD IN A BOX

This story of three preteens in Elmira, New York, HAD to be an audiobook. Bahni Turpin as Hibernia, S’Von Ringo as Willie, and J.B. Adkins as Otis bring to life the period of the Great Depression and Joe Louis’s quest for the heavyweight championship. Hibernia’s saucy belief in herself, Willie’s bravado in spite of the horrific accident that killed his dream, and Otis’s determination to be true to his dead parents are testaments to the resilience of the human spirit. Background jazz and reenactments of Louis’s bouts give the story plenty of atmosphere. The author’s note and information on the real people who populate the story make this an excellent snapshot of American life in the 1930s. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2011]