Saving Sweetness

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with THE CHICKEN SISTERS, THE JOURNEY, and THE STRAY DOG.]--One of the joys of fall is the release of a wonderful crop of new audiobooks. All four of these selections from Live Oak Media are extremely well done--clear sound, appropriate music that enhances the telling but never becomes the focus, and perfectly cast narrators. In SAVING SWEETNESS, Tom Bodett provides just the right long, slow drawl for this Old West sheriff--not too bright but with a good heart. Bodett's fairly flat narration promotes visions of vast open desert and a slow, easygoing lifestyle. William Dufris, narrating Simont's THE STRAY DOG, also reads at a slow pace, allowing young readers time to take in the illustrations. In a story with little text, Dufris manages to convey the varied emotions the family goes through as they find, lose, then recover a charming stray dog; Dufris imbues the story with warmth and joy to accompany the exuberant illustrations. THE CHICKEN SISTERS, another silly story by Laura Numeroff, is brought to life with the slow, easy pace and wonderfully diverse voices of Barbara Rosenblat. Over soft clucking sounds in the background, Rosenblat gives each character a distinct, identifying voice. Over half the pages of THE JOURNEY have no text. Classical music pieces, perfectly suited to Hannah's moods and environment, enhance the story. Narrator Daisy Egan delightfully juxtaposes spunky Hannah's two very different worlds--her breathless excitement amid the crazy, lonely bustle of the city and her homesickness for the peaceful, supportive community of home. A wonderful choice for a one-on-one book or an independent reader, with many layers to consider for older readers. W.L.S. SAVING SWEETNESS is a 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

October 2, 1996
Colorful idiom characterizes this witty Western adventure, narrated by an amiable but bumbling sheriff. When "the ittiest, bittiest orphan, little Sweetness" runs away from the local orphanage and its cruel headmistress, the sheriff follows her into the desert. "I was gonna bring that orphan back if it harelipped the governor!" he vows, worried that Sweetness will fall prey to a scorpion, a snake or the outlaw Coyote Pete. Ironically, the sheriff turns out to be the vulnerable one, and Sweetness rescues him three times, with water from her canteen, a snack of toasted marshmallows and a well-placed rock to Coyote Pete's head-all the while dropping hints about adoption. Stanley (Woe Is Moe; Leonardo da Vinci) guarantees a cowpokey twang by droppin' g's and spellin' phonetically, and she milks the narrator's thick-headedness for all its comic worth ("How many times has I gotta save you?" he scolds after Sweetness comes to his aid). Karas (Mr. Carey's Garden; Home on the Bayou) sets the scene with charcoaly pencil illustrations; a palette of pale yellow, sandy brown and cactus green; and tinted cyanotype photos of desert scenery and old-fashioned buildings. Sweetness really is, as the sheriff observes, "cute as a speckled pup under a wagon," and her mustachioed father-to-be has his own goofy charm. Their story is sweet, and worth saving. Ages 4-8.