The following is an excerpt from a regular audio book column in the Ottawa Citizen by Janice Kennedy.
The sounds of Christmas: Kids should be encouraged to read themselves, but sometimes it's OK to let a CD read to them instead
The Ottawa Citizen Sunday, November 26, 2006 Page: C6
Section: The Citizen's Weekly Arts & Books Byline: Janice Kennedy
Column: Reading Out Loud
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
.... One of the most engaging such recordings is the work of a small company in Tors Cove, N.L., a short drive out of St. John's. Rattling Books produces a variety of engagingly unusual Canadian titles, many of them with a Newfoundland-Labrador connection, in unabridged audio format. (And unapologetically, too. Says founder Janet Russell to anyone who thinks audiobooks "are some form of cheating: If you want to be like that about it, writing it down in the first place was cheating. What's wrong with you, can't tell a story or what? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Spoken.")
One of the most engagingly unusual of its titles is a kids' audiobook with a festive-season theme. And it has recently been honoured with an Earphones Award from the U.S. magazine AudioFile. The True Meaning of Crumbfest (22 minutes unabridged/1 CD, $9.95) Written by Prince Edward Island history professor and storyteller David Weale, this story has become very popular since it first appeared in print seven years ago. It is the adventure of a small mouse who tries to discover why something wonderful happens once a year, after the extended mouse family moves from their beloved Outside to the between-walls darkness of the Inside.
Sweet and delightfully tart at the same time, and perfect for kids four to nine, the story is narrated by Antonia Francis. And that's one of the surprising appeals of the recording. At the time the story was recorded -- in 2001, for her mother's community radio show -- Antonia was only five years old. Young Antonia turns her little voice to a genuinely impressive range. She is as cheery, apprehensive, sad or triumphant as the narrative occasion demands, and she is eminently listenable. The 22-minute recording is the original radio presentation, rough around the edges, but still a joy. AudioFile called Crumbfest a "special treat." And so it is.
So there you have it. You can read the Earphones Award review elsewhere on this Blog. The unabridged audio recording of The True Meaning of Crumbfest by David Weale performed by Antonia Francis is available online from Rattling Books.
Listen to an excerpt of Antonia's Crumbfest narration.
