THE LADY AND THE PANDA

Ruth Harkness gained fame as the first captor of a giant panda in 1936. Her entertaining life's story comes with valuable insight into the panda's continuing struggle for survival in a diminishing habitat. Living in a time when most women were restricted to housework, Harkness achieved success as an explorer, but her personal life was one of depression and alcoholism. Lorna Raver's genteel matriarchal voice never hurries nor misses a single syllable. She adds pleasant expression and modulation to her narration, making herself sound more like an animated storyteller than a reader. The clarity and simplicity of her audio production would recommend it for young readers and students of English. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]