WILL SPARROW'S ROAD

When 12-year-old Will Sparrow runs away from his master, he finds adventure and companionship among the “oddities and prodigies" of the traveling shows that are headed to the Elizabethan market fairs. He comes to appreciate that things are not always what they seem—in his personal history or in the faces of new acquaintances. Narrator Katherine Kellgren does an outstanding job with Cushman’s vividly detailed descriptions and dialogue. Kellgren’s elocution is superb, and even though she captures the bustle of the fair by speeding and slowing, not a spectacular image is missed. Each character in Cushman’s extensive cast—traveling dentist, blind juggler, pickpocket, to name just a few—is full of personality. An author’s note on the place of fairs in English history and the process of creating her first male protagonist concludes the recording. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2012]