DANIEL THE DRAW-ER

Nine-year-old Daniel is a typical kid until he finds a magic pencil that turns his drawings into living creatures. Narrator Jay Prichard portrays a realistic, whiny, and sometimes wimpy kid. When Daniel draws Whiskers, a cat complete with a funny New York accent, his best friend, Annie, wants to borrow the precious pencil. Prichard's Annie is a confident, feisty girl who's hurt when Daniel refuses to share. Another of Daniel's "creations," a combination pizza- making-math-wiz bot, sounds aptly robotic. Annie and Daniel's many adventures with talkative super heroes, including a marshmallow thrower, will appeal to young listeners. Best of all is the subtle lesson about friendship and learning not to be selfish. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2015]