A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is a difficult play to follow in audio only. Many of the scenes, especially those involving Bottom and his motley troupe of actors, rely heavily on their visual elements. This Arkangel production does include some interesting voices, however. Most notably, Oberon and Titania are played by black actors David Harewood and Adjoa Andoh, whose accents--Jamaican and West African, respectively--give a refreshing texture to the fairy scenes. It's too bad some of those same scenes are undone by lame echo effects that are not only cloying, but at times make the lines difficult to hear.
(Graphic fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: May 1, 2005
Duration: 2 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners/ Arkangel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An unrealistic but enjoyable whirlwind tour of Tokyo inspired by the author’s own story.
Eileen Stevens and Alison Hiroto narrate this enthusiastic look at Tokyo and the seductive history of manga. Pen pals Abby and Yuuko meet in person when Abby travels to Tokyo, and together they create a well-received comic. Stevens and Hiroto are engaging as they portray Abby and Yuuko’s different accents, cultures, and personalities. A full cast, along with sound effects of cooking, train and plane travel, karaoke, and more, invites listeners into the action and makes the setting come alive, including fun details about Japanese cuisine and ever-present vending machines. While the text makes the young women seem too juvenile, both main narrators sound more like adults.
An unrealistic but enjoyable whirlwind tour of Tokyo inspired by the author’s own story. (Graphic fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 21, 2026
Duration: 1 hr, 26 mins
DD ISBN: 9798225091521
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2026
Ivan Mok, Quyen Ngo, and a full cast narrate this award-winning 2020 graphic novel. Mok portrays 13-year-old English-speaking Tien, and Ngo portrays his mother, Helen, a Vietnamese refugee. Mok shows Tien's confusion as he crushes on a male classmate. Ngo conveys Helen's despair at losing her own mother and her longing for the past. Mother and son have always bridged language differences and found connection by reading fairy tales together, so it makes perfect sense that these actors' on-target depictions are interwoven with dramatic, beautifully rendered scenes from stories that resemble "The Little Mermaid," "Tattercoats," and others. Throughout, well-cued sound effects aid in setting scenes, while a superb musical score differentiates contemporary and fantasy settings.
(Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
Duration: 1 hr, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217072811
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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