BOOKS THAT "TALK" THRILL THE KIDS

BOOKS THAT "TALK" THRILL THE KIDS

Future Reflections Winter 1987, Vol. 6 No. 1
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BOOKS THAT "TALK" THRILL THE KIDS
By Gaye Delaplane
(This Gannett News Service article
appeared in the March 2, 1986 nbwa Des
Modnes Register)
"Talking books" are not only growing
in numbers - they're growing in popularity.
Kids of all ages are discovering
the fun of listening to a story unravel
during a car ride or during a long snowy
afternoon.
The other news is that these creative
little cassettes now come in creative
packages - wooden boxes, colorful tin
cans and sturdy book-shaped holders.
Kids 8 years old and older will like
Audio Book Contractor's production of
"Five Children and It," by Edith Nesbit
(who wrote " The Railway Children)."
Flo Gibson, who has a wonderful voice,
narrates this tale about five English
children who find a sand fairy. But
this ancient psammead (a furry, fat
creature with snail-like eyes, bat's
ears, and hands and feet like a monkey's)
is no TinkerbelL The psammead
is wise - especially when it starts
granting the children's wishes. What
happens when those wishes come true will
provide some fun and some unusual
adventures.
Gibson also narrates the followup story-"The Phoenix and the Carpet" --
which involves the same children, this
time with a magical carpet, the mythical
Phoenix, a reappearance of the psammead,
and more wishes that come true with
unexpected results.
The three-cassette edition of Edna
Mason Kaula's "African Village Folktales,"
for example, starts off each
story with a description of the people
and location. The animal tales (read by
Brock Peters and Diane Sands) come from
19 tribes, including Bushman, Pygmy,
Chagga, and Amhara.
Each cassette includes a small map of
Africa showing the tribal locales.
"
Chinese Fairy Tales," read by Siobhan
McKenna, has 10 stories, including "The
Chinese Red Riding Hood," "The Tigers
Teacher," and "The Sparrow and the
Phoenix."
"The Twelve Labors of Heracles" (drawn
from Padraic Colum's "The Golden
Fleece") offers kids an exciting introduction
to Greco-Roman mythology. Anthony
Quayle relates "The Nemean Lion,"
The Hydra," The Bull of Minos," and nine
other tales in a voice that captures the
excitement.
And for sheer fun, give a listen to
"Canned Laughter" from the Mind's Eye.
This collection of riassic: radio shows
includes Jack Benny, George Bums and
Grade Allen, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx,
Will Rogers, and Mae West. And "Canned
Laughter" comes in cans.
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