THE MARDI GRAS MYSTERY

Narrator Stephen DeRosa imbues this educational kids' mystery with verve and humor. He animatedly voices pirate ghosts, multilingual grandmothers, eccentric artists, basketball-coaching nuns, and two plucky kids. Together, they must use communication, creativity, and historical knowledge to save New Orleans' Mardi Gras festivities from an inconvenient (but not scary) haunting--all within the story's run time of less than an hour. DeRosa dials up the silliness and energy when characters veer occasionally into educational monologues, gripping the attention of savvy young listeners who might otherwise tune out a lecture. Occasional sound effects, such as a referee's whistle, the crinkling wrapper of a magical cake pop, and radar-like beeping from a ghost-finding machine, suit the story's vibrant spirit. V.E.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2025]