BOOMERANG!

This newly devised "audio magazine" for children tries for "Prairie Home Companion" by way of "Sesame Street" and comes up short. Technical quality is highly variable. Some "remote" interviews sound as if a microphone was held to a telephone, with predictable results; sound levels vary to such an extent that some segments are virtually inaudible unless the volume is adjusted. The professionalism of the cast varies from amateurish to adequate but not much beyond. One of the segments gives instructions on how to make pie crust but not the filling. Likewise, this is a product better in conception than in execution. K.T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG 93]