THE WHIZZ POP CHOCOLATE SHOP

Eleven-year-old twins Oz and Lily tap into a magical world when their father inherits a house and a chocolate shop from his great-great-grandfather. Jayne Entwistle's chipper, youthful voice conveys the twins' excitement when they discover that they're the only ones who can see Spike, a talking rat, and Demerara, a talking cat. In Entwistle's portrayal, Spike's accent takes on a charming Cockney flair. Her sophisticated depiction of Demerara features long, drawn-out words befitting the cat, but at times the voice is overdone and makes the character somewhat unlikable. While Entwistle's variety of voices is also evident in the story's other characters, voices often run into one another, making it difficult to distinguish one from another. Nonetheless, this is an enchanting children's story. M.F. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2013]