by Amy Ephron, read by Laraine Newman.
Listening Library, unabridged, 3 CDs, 3.5 hrs.
Grades 4-7.
"Great for family listening enjoyment."
Newman, one of the members of the original Saturday Night Live cast, imbues Ephron’s book, reminiscent of old-fashioned favorites by Edward Eager and E. Nesbit, with appropriate solemnity, humor, and a tiny bit of macabre anticipation.
While their mother is recuperating from a serious illness at home in New York, and their father, a war reporter, is away in Afghanistan, Tess and her younger brother, Max, spend the summer with their aunt in a quiet English country village. Worried about their mother and missing their father, the two children are very much at loose ends. When Tess stumbles upon a young boy and his governess on the lawn of a nearby castle, she and Max are happy to make a new friend. Although William’s world is not what it seems, the magic seems quite real, thanks in large part to Newman’s accents, pacing, and inflection. Great for family listening enjoyment.
