SING A SONG OF TUNA FISH: Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade

Esme Raji Codell, , read by the author. . Listening Library, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-307-20648-0

The author of Sahara Special returns with this collection of colorfully and carefully detailed anecdotes from her grade-school years, circa 1979 Chicago. Whether she's hurling eggs from her apartment balcony (with encouragement from her mother) onto the shiny car of a "rich schmuck," describing her parents' sometimes loud shouting fights or the fascinating layout of her grandmother Evelyn's apartment, Codell paints a realistic and deeply felt childhood. Her bright, occasionally soft-spoken voice has a youthful tone, which wrings notes of humor, revelation and poignancy from her written words. Listeners also get an extra treat here—two stories not included in the print edition of the book. Ages 8-up. (Jan.)

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