"The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde

Source: Spoken Alexandria (mp3)
Length: 25 min
Reader: Alex Wilson

The story: Children's stories are a convenient framework to present a fable about life in the world of adults. This is what Oscar Wilde does in this famous short story. Like Hard Times, "The Happy Prince" presents the despair of poverty and greed of the rich.

The Prince of the title is a statue of a man who was wealthy in life, but now sees the sadness of the poor from the vantage point of his pedestal. His companion is a sparrow who has delayed in flying south with the rest of his flock and decides to help the prince to alleviate the suffering of the people of the city. The story has the melancholy feel of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree".

Would this be a good story for modern children? Perhaps. Depressing stories seem to have fallen out of favor recently as parents try to shelter their children against a depressing world, but the lessons of empathy for others is one that everyone, both children and adults, need to learn.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Wilson is an outstanding performer of short stories. He voices the creatures and people of this story with such great characterizations that they almost become real. The voice of the birds is an especially expressive one. The recording is superbly engineered and provided in several formats other than the mp3 directly linked above.

"The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter

Source: Denver Public Library Podcast (mp3)
Length: 6 min, 40 sec
Reader: Miss Lydia

The story: I'll admit it. Now that I'm older, I identify more with Mr. McGregor than with Peter Rabbit. My backyard garden has been assaulted by rabbits and chipmunks, most of whom eat only a few bites of a nice red tomato, then leave the rest of it mashed and ruined. I've tried fences, nets, and spraying with chili pepper infused water, but to no avail. I guess I'll have to start chasing them around with a rake.

For younger, non-gardening listeners, though, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" has all the wonderful details that have made it a classic of bedtime stories. The description of Peter sneaking into the garden has all the suspense of being where you're not supposed to go as a child. When Mr. McGregor inevitably shows up to chase Peter, there's enough danger to be exciting, but not so much that it's scary. Every child should know this story by heart.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Miss Lydia has the gift of storytelling, and here she has great material to work with. She modulates her volume, pitch and pace to keep up with the changes in situations in which Peter finds himself.  Lydia has a pleasing middle American voice that lends its warmth to Potter's words. This is the perfect recording to play for short trips in the car or while following along with the book's illustrations.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s or M4B)
Length: 5 hr, 2 min
Reader: Meredith Hughes

The book: In the winter of 1892, Rudyard Kipling was living in a small cottage in Vermont, the homeland of his new bride.  In the midst of caring for his first child, born that winter, he must have been thinking about childrens' stories and his own childhood in British India. He published a collection of stories, mostly set in India, in 1894 as The Jungle Book.

The first few stories deal with Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. As he grows, Mowgli is taught the ways of the jungle by the wolf Akela, the panther Bagheera and the bear Baloo while fighting for survival against the tiger Shere Khan and the monkeys of the Bandor Log. Other memorable stories in the book include the brave mongoose Riki-Tiki-Tavi's fight against the cobra and the coming of age story set among the elephant-drivers in "Toomai of the Elephants".

I was less enthralled by the two stories not set in the jungle, "The White Seal" and "His Majesty's Servants".  Apart from these two, the stories are entertaining and gently didactic, though more violent and harsh than most childrens' stories are nowadays. Kipling, I think, would argue that children can safely be exposed to some level of harshness, since it is their introduction to the Laws of the Jungle and the how the world works.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Hughes has a youthful-sounding American accent that is bright and cheery without being overwhelmingly saccharine. She doesn't perform extreme voices for the animal characters, but does inflect her voice to indicate dialogue.  Her reading reminds me of a bedside reading of a favorite book for a child: friendly, warm, and fun.


(Entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday. Click the link to see more book reviews.)

"St. George and the Dragon" by Jacobus de Voragine

Source: Storynory (mp3)
Length: 7 minutes
Reader: Natasha

The story: Saint George's feast day is April 23rd. When I think of the legend of St. George and the dragon, I think of a medieval knight in Europe, like in the picture to the right. Listening to the story again, I learned that the setting was not Europe, but North Africa, the time period was not the Middle Ages, but the Roman Empire, and the hero was not a knight in shining armor but a Roman soldier.

Whatever the background, the story itself had a great hold on people across the Christian world. St. George appears as the patron saint of a number of different cities and nations, including England and Georgia. I think this is because of the appeal of  classic good versus evil conflict stripped down to its most basic form. The dragon poisons the peoples' water supply, spreads diseases and eats their sheep and people. George, and the princess he defends, represent purity, chastity, honor and Christianity. The idea that goodness will unfailingly and quickly triumph over evil is an appealing one, and this type of story is needed for times when reality seems much darker.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Natasha tends to tell a story with heavy emphasis on the drama. While this classic storytelling style could get tedious in a longer reading, it really enlivens a short piece like this. Natasha has a soprano British accent that is cheerful and sunny. Her reading is pitched towards children, so she tends to emphasize words with a kindergarten teacher tone and a singsong delivery.

(Painting by Rogier van der Weyden. No copyright restrictions)

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Source: Ancient Faith Radio (part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 )
Length: Approx. 4.5 hours
Reader: Dr. Chrissi Hart

The book: One of the classics of children's fantasy literature, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was my favorite book as a child. I loved (and still love) the feel of the world of Narnia as a place both magically impossible and plausable, filled with characters that could never exist, but are true enough to be real. I must have read it a dozen times from second grade up to my adult years. Every time I read it, I gain a new perspective on the book. The same book that is a mind-blowing adventure story for a child is also a profound Christian allegory for an adult.

I have some non-Christian friends who think that slipping an extended metaphor for Jesus Christ's death and resurrection into a children's story is some sort of sneaky trick Lewis uses to brainwash children into becoming Christians. However, I think the presence of the allegory is part of the appeal of the story, even if I didn't recognize it as a child. Great fanasty literature puts the reader in a world that has a history and largeness that exceeds even what is shown in the book. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis's imaginary world works on prophesies and rules that have the feel of existing beyond the scope of the book to eternity. What better way to lend a sense of mythic grandeur to a novel than to base it upon the most powerful and deep story in Western culture?

Rating: 10/10

The reader: I'm absolutely amazed that Ancient Faith was able to get permission from HarperCollins and the Lewis estate to podcast this novel. Hart has a pleasing British accent and the confidence of someone who is comfortable in front of a microphone. She makes a couple of repetition errors, but is otherwise flawless. The recording quality is very good, as is befitting such a professionally produced podcast. The other books in The Chronicles of Narnia series are also available for free through the same website, so head on over to collect all seven books.

(Entered in the Book Review Wednesday contest at Cym Lowell. Follow the link for reviews of other books by various bloggers)

"The Travelling Musicians" by the Brothers Grimm

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 9 minutes
Reader:  Jedopi

The story: One of my favorite stories from the Brothers Grimm, I recently read a storybook version of "The Travelling Musicians" to my little niece, who also loved it. The German folktale is also known by the name of "The Musicians of Bremen" because the main characters, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, are travelling to that city in hopes of becoming musicians there. They don't make it to Bremen, but instead meet a gang of robbers and scare them away from the robber's den through their group and individual talents.

I think the reason why I like this story so much is because of the way the various animal characters work together. The image of them standing on each others' backs like a living matryoshka doll is so memorable, it's even featured in a statue in the modern city of Bremen. More than anything, though, I love the way that these animals, who were abandoned by their masters, are able to find a new life by becoming self-reliant.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Jedopi is a storyteller in the classic sense. This story gives good readers a chance to show off their voices, and Jedopi rises to the occasion, with distinct donkey, dog, rooster and cat sounds. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn't as good as the reader's talents. The sound is clipped at the louder amplitudes, making the recording sound as if it's being played on a set of speakers turned up too high. I was able to mostly ignore the faults after a few minutes, but if you want another option, try Story Nory's version (mp3).

(picture Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial/Share Alike licence from J Whiteman)

"Twas the Night before Christmas (A Visit from St. Nicholas)" by Clement C. Moore

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 4 minutes
Reader: Peter Yearsley

The poem: 
'Twas the night before Christmas,
and all through Free Listens
I was trying to play an iPod with mittens.
I loaded this poem and the O. Henry tale,
to look through the cards that had come in the mail.

I had listened to stories read for free,
while putting the lights up on the tree.
The best audiobooks were burned to CDs
To give to my friends I wanted to please.

Later, while baking some cookies in kitchens
I'll make the time pass with the ghost of Charles Dickens.
And before I lay down for a long winter's nap
I'll listen once more to Santa kidnapped.

But I just want to say, as I turn out the light
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Rating: 8/10

The reader: There are nine different readings of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" at the LibriVox link above, plus several more scattered around the LibriVox site. Picking one out of the group is mainly a matter of personal taste. Yearsley has lovely British accent that gives some maturity and gravity to such a childish poem. The places he chooses to pause and words he emphasizes make this very familiar poem new and fresh. There's a bit of a recording hiss, since I think this is a project from the early days of LibriVox.

"A Kidnapped Santa Claus" by L. Frank Baum

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 22 minutes
Reader: Judy Bieber

The story:  This children's story, written by the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,  presents a Santa Claus a bit different from the version that you may know from the animated Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  The popular image of Santa was not yet solidified when this story was written in 1904. Instead, Santa lives in the Laughing Valley, not the North Pole, his reindeer don't fly, and he's helped by a host of different fairies and sprites, not elves. All these imaginative details come from Baum's earlier book, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (also available through LibriVox).

One thing that modern audiences will recognize is Santa's inherent goodness. Evil demons try to tempt Santa Claus into being bad, but when Santa rebuffs them all, the demons come up with a plan to kidnap Santa Claus. Although the story resolves itself without any action, this pleasant tale has a fable-like quality that makes for a nice listen on the way to Grandma's house for Christmas.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Bieber has a neutral American voice that neither adds much to the story nor distracts from it. Her high tone has a singsong quality that is common to parents reading a bedtime story. Listeners who are used to a more active reading may be disappointed, but I thought that this reading was just fine for an amateur recording.

(cover image from a new comic book version by Alex Robinson. Available at multiple online retailers or your local bookstore. See a preview here.)

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Source: LibriVox
Length: 9 hr, 34 min
Reader: Rachelellen

The book: Anne of Green Gables is like a female version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer set in the Canadian maritime provinces rather than the American Midwest. Like Tom Sawyer, this book doesn't have so much of a plot as a series of interrelated humorous episodes. But while Tom has adventures in getting into fights, faking his own death, and tricking his friends, Anne's adventures consist of making friends, having tea parties, and going to poetry recitals.

While they may express it differently, Anne and Tom have a similar view of the world as a place of adventure to be explored. Tom's adventures get more outrageous as the book goes on until he finally ends up in mortal danger. Anne, on the other hand, channels her sense of adventure into pathways deemed acceptable to society. Yet, even though this may appear to be a capitulation to the pressures of adulthood, Anne still keeps her sense of wonder and vivacity. Montgomery seems to be propounding a philosophy that one can grow up without leaving behind the essential spirit of childhood.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: This is an excellent recording of an amazing reader. Rachelellen voices fill the characters with so much life, I can't imagine reading this book without her. Her voicing of Anne, Marilla, and Matthew, not to mention her hilarious acting of Mrs. Rachel Lynde, made me love the characters and kept me listening. Rachelellen's narrating voice is clear and bright, with wonderful phrasing and diction. I think Anne herself would applaud Rachelellen if she were to go to a recital.

"Why Brother Bear Has No Tail" by Joel Chandler Harris

Source: Lit2Go
Length: 8 minutes
Reader: Rick Kistner

The story: This story, also known as "Why Brer Bear Has No Tail" is a tale about a tail within a tale - a young white boy, son of a plantation owner, goes to find entertainment in the cabin of Uncle Remus, a former slave. Watching the boy trying to act "grown up", Remus tells him a story about Brother Bear trying to imitate the smaller animals in a game of sliding down slippery rocks in a creek. But Bear is too large for this pastime and as a result loses his beautiful tail.

For such a simple story, this is a complex narrative to analyze. In addition to the stated moral that people should take care when they try to imitate others, there is the additional complexity of this being a story told by a poor black man to a rich white boy. Is it a story about the consequences of acting outside one's place or is it about the big and powerful getting his comeuppance? If it's the first, then Remus may be warning the boy about stepping outside his social strata. If it's the second, then Remus may be telling the boy that those in power can meet their downfall by the brains of the weak.

The ambiguity of the story reflects the ambiguity of the author, or more accurately, the man who put the folktales to paper. Was Joel Chandler Harris mocking Uncle Remus in the spirit of minstrels? Or was he more akin to an anthropologist chronicling African-American folklore for later generations? I'll weasel out of the questions of about the story and its writer by answering to both: "it's a little of each".

Rating: 6/10

The reader: This story is written in dialect, so reading it aloud is really the best way to understand it. Kistner acts the part of Uncle Remus with great skill - his accent and pacing are similar to many old Southern men I've known. His reading does an excellent job of making the words understandable -- or at least understandable to me, since I'm a Southerner who has heard words like "chimbley" and "turkle" from my grandma. I reckon that non-Southerners will find it thicker than a day-old mess of grits.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Source: Librivox
Length: 6 hr, 47 min
Reader: John Greenman

The book: To my mind, Tom Sawyer is the quintessential book of summer. No other novel captures quite as well the possibility, freedom, and laziness of being released from the obligations of school. Even now that I'm an adult summer still carries an echo of the magic that Twain distills into this book.

I've mentioned before that Twain does not write novels so much as a series of short stories connected by place and character. Most of Tom Sawyer follows this pattern, but toward the end, Twain brings several threads together into something resembling a plot. It is not the plot, however, but the humorous episodes that most people remember when they think of this book: Tom convincing the other boys to whitewash a fence, Tom and Huck faking their deaths, Tom cheating to win a Bible at Sunday School. These episodes are what makes Tom such an unforgettable character and what makes this book a true classic.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Reading aloud a book like this requires considerable talent in order to convey Twain's unique brand of humor, which can range from subtle to slapstick. John Greenman does an admirable job of translating this humor to the spoken word. His voices for characters like Huck Finn and Aunt Polly are particularly memorable while his narration carries the hint of a smirk at the outrageous pranks that Tom pulls.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Source: Librivox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 7 hr, 33 min
Reader: Adrian Praetzellis

The book: This classic boy's adventure follows Jim Hawkins out of his innkeeper's life and into the world of pirates, danger, and buried treasure. Stevenson's imaginative mind introduced several new concepts into pirate literature, including the parrot on the shoulder and "X marks the spot" pirate maps. The story takes a few chapters to get underway as Stevenson takes extra time to build up a sense of foreboding, which pays off later in dividends of excitement as the action comes to fruition. On the other hand, the ending seems to arrive too quickly, with room for a sequel that Stevenson never got to write (though others have tried).

I first tried to read Treasure Island as a boy, but the combination of nautical terms and antiquated language made it a frustrating attempt. Coming back to the book with the experience of reading many 19th century books and a few Patrick O'Brian novels, I am now able to enjoy it more thoroughly. I find it incredible that a book written for boys such a long time ago still has the power to thrill an adult of the 21st century.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Adrian Praetzellis is my favorite Librivox reader. As I mention above, Stevenson's language can be a barrier to the enjoyment of the story, but Praetzellis's narration goes a long way toward bypassing this difficulty by making the meaning clear through his tone. Each character is given an interesting voice, using a multitude of accents. His acting of Long John Silver brings out the Sea Cook's beguiling friendliness as well as his hidden danger. When all the pirates sing "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum", Praetzellis overdubs his voice to produce a chorus of buccaneers. This type of attention to every aspect of the recording reflects why this audiobook is so enjoyable.

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Source: Librivox
Length: 29 min
Reader: Marlo Dianne

The story: The Velveteen Rabbit tells the story of a toy rabbit who comes to live in the nursery of a young boy. Though the wind-up toys mock the rabbit's simplicity, an older toy tells him that he will become real if he is loved so much that the boy believes he is real. Eventually, the rabbit becomes the boy's favorite toy, lending comfort when the boy comes down with scarlet fever. After the boy recovers, the doctor orders all infected items to be burned, including the stuffed bunny. Will the rabbit be burned on the rubbish heap, or will he become real and go live with the wild rabbits?

The story is enjoyable enough for children on its surface level, but adults will see a deeper parable. The details of the velveteen rabbit wearing out, moving away, and changing irrevocably mirror the bittersweet joy and pain of growing up. Like the bunny, we can't turn things back to the simpler life of childhood, but being real is often worth the difficulties.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Marlo Dianne does a very good job of interpreting this classic story. The sound quality is quite nice. Ms. Dianne reads with a mournful tone that matches the notes of melancholy in the story. When she voices the characters, the tone brightens and her voice reflects the characters' emotions. Her steady rhythm of speech seems perfect for using this as a bedtime story.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Source: Librivox
Length: 9 hr, 8 min
Reader: Kara Shallenberg

The book: Left an orphan in India after a cholera epidemic, Mary Lennox goes to live with an uncle in the British countryside. Neither the uncle nor his housekeeper show much interest in raising the child, so she wanders about the enormous old house and grounds. Mary is spoiled and rude, but she is also inquisitive. Soon her explorations uncover two secrets. The first is the secret garden of the book's title, which influences a change in her character. The second secret involves mysterious noises in a shut-off wing of the house, which draws her in to further investigations.

Throughout the book, Burnett succeeds better at creating moods rather than weaving a plot. The atmosphere of mystery and oppression, then later joy and light, are the trade-off for a slow-moving story. Much of the novel is blatantly sentimental, with good deeds, fresh air and kindness overcoming all problems in the end. To her credit, Burnett avoids the mistake of making the child characters into either perfect angels or little adults, but places them somewhere in between. Giving Mary a unpleasant disposition, but a bright mind, rescues her from being an unsympathetic character and makes this a children's classic.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Kara Shallenberg is one of Librivox's most prolific readers and is a wonderful example of the enthusiastic amateur spirit of the Librivox project. This is not a professional reading. Don't start listening with that expectation or you'll be disappointed. Instead what you get is Kara's bright voice over a background that can include bumps, passing trucks, and singing birds. Kara's accent is American with a slight sing-song delivery that made me feel as if I was sitting cross-legged at the local library's story time. The overall effect is not that of an actor performing in a sterile sound booth, but of a friend sharing a book that she obviously loves.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Source: Librivox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 3 hr, 45 min
Reader: J. Hall

The book: When I started reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, my first question was, "How could the book possibly be better than the movie?" After all, the 1939 film starring Judy Garland has rightly become a classic of American cinema. As I listened to the book, I found similar admiration for Baum's book. While the movie contributes new facets to the story through the use of color, music and a distinct visual style, the book contains an episodic plot and playful language that don't quite translate to the screen. A number of the episodes in the book are altered or removed in the film. Baum's repetition of plot elements recall fairy tales like "The Billy Goats Gruff" and "The Snow Queen". After all, Baum was attempting to create an American fairy tale and so the oral structure of fairy tales comes through, making this a perfect book for listening.

A few weeks ago, I wondered whether children would still enjoy Alice in Wonderland. I don't think there's a doubt that most kids would like The Wizard of Oz. Perhaps this is because the book is closer to our time and doesn't have the dated references to forgotten poems and Victorian life. Maybe it's because Baum's book is not as ambitious as Carroll's; Oz keeps the plot grounded in a fantasy world with rules rather than going off in surreal flights of fancy as in Alice.
In this way, Oz is a book that reflects child's play itself: imagination and adventure within a framework of rules and repetition. This, I think, is a reason for Oz's continued success: that it makes us remember how we play as children.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: J. Hall narrates the book with a pleasant American accent that would be at home at NPR. This isn't a professional reading; Hall has several minor stumbles and he doesn't attempt distinguishing voices for the characters. However, these minor faults can be easily overlooked when one considers the excellent pacing and emphasis with which Hall reads. The recording is free of any background sound, but has a compressed sound when played at higher volumes, perhaps due to noise filtering. All in all, this is a excellent choice if you're looking for a recording of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that comes without silly voices or overacting.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Source: Storynory
Length: Approx 3.6 hours
Reader: Natasha

The book: The basic plot of Alice in Wonderland should be familiar to everyone: young Alice, while reading underneath a tree, is distracted by a white rabbit rushing by while looking at his pocketwatch and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down a rabbit hole and proceeds to have a number of bizarre encounters with talking animals and playing-card royalty.

Although I've grown up watching the Disney animated movie, I found the book very interesting not only as a comparison between the book and movie, but also from the perspective of an adult reading a children's book. Lewis plays on puns, literal illustrations of idioms, and parodies of poems. For an American in the 21st century, unraveling these jokes can require an annotated edition of the book, even if one is a fairly well-educated person. I would never expect a child to have heard of the expression "mad as a March hare", or know what Turtle Soup is, or be able to recite "Thou art old, Father William."

Would a child still find this book funny? I'm not sure. From my own experience looking back at how many jokes from Sesame Street or The Flintstones went over my head, I'd like to think that if the story and characters are entertaining, as they are here, then the individual jokes don't matter so much.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Natasha of Storynory lends the art of a storyteller to his reading. Her narraration is in a sing-song American pronunciation, but she drops into a variety of animal voices and silly accents for the dialog. It's an impressive performance, especially considering the number of characters that Alice meets during her adventures. The recording is clear and easy to understand. The download page requires you to go to each post and download the files separately and there is no standard naming convention for the files. In chapter 4, Natasha experiments with some canned sound effects, but the result is distracting and she wisely discards the noises in later chapters. Apart from this, the reading is one that will appeal to both children and adults who love fun voices.