GIVE PEAS A CHANCE

Gleitzman’s short stories bring together humor, current events, whimsy, and food for thought. Story topics run the gamut from babysitting for infant twins to a creative solution for global warming, a dad who’s new to text-messaging, and germs going on vacation. Gleitzman rises to the challenge of narrating his own work. He knows each character intimately and brings nuances of voice, inflection, and timing to each, resulting in richer characters and deeper engagement for listeners. The pace is brisk; in fact, the combination of zany stories and Australian accent and word usage can cause brief moments of scrambling to make all the connections. The effort is well worth it. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]