Series Tsunami
Just in time for the summer travel season, several popular book series have been adapted for audio.
Barbara Park's irrepressible kindergartener Junie B. Jones comes to life—endearing grammatical errors and all—in the childlike voice of actress Lana Quintal on Junie B. Jones Collection: Books 9—12 and Junie B. Jones Collection: Books 13—16, which include such bestselling titles as Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket and Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal. (Listening Library, unabridged, each 2 hrs., $18, ISBN 0-8072-0467-6; -6183-1, ages 4-up, May)
The Time Warp Trio guys of Jon Scieszka's early reader time-travel series make their audio debut in The Time Warp Trio: Volume 1 read by William Dufris. Knights of the Kitchen Table and The Not-So-Jolly Roger are the first two adventures. (Listening Library, unabridged, two cassettes, 1 hr., 38 mins., $18, ISBN 0-8072-6205-6, ages 8-up, May)
Author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) reads volumes three and four of his Series of Unfortunate Events saga. A snappy, techno tune by a group called the Gothic Archies serves as toe-tapping introduction to Handler's chipper performance of his humorously melodramatic tales. The first two audiobooks in the series, performed by British actor Tim Curry, were released by Listening Library in March. (The Wide Window [volume 3]; The Miserable Mill [volume 4], HarperChildren's Audio, unabridged, each three cassettes, 3 hrs., 30 mins., $20, ISBN 0-694-52542-1, ages 9-up, May)
Comic actor Jon Cryer pays homage to classic movies with his hilarious take on fourth-grade lizard detective Chet Gecko in Chet Gecko—Private Eye: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse and The Mystery of Mr. Nice by Bruce Hale. (Listening Library, unabridged, two cassettes, 2 hrs., 34 mins., $18, ISBN 0-8072-6187-4, ages 8-up, May)
Animal Antics
Kipper the puppy, star of the popular picture books by Mick Inkpen and an animated series on Nick Jr., makes his home video debut with Kipper: Pools, Parks and Picnics and Kipper: Tiger Tales. In episodes culled from the TV show archives, Kipper and animal pals Tiger, Jake, Pig and Arnold explore, play, eat al fresco and hunt for pirate's treasure. The gentle tales for toddlers will be cross-trailered on new video titles featuring licensed characters Barney, the Wiggles and Bob the Builder. (Lyrick, each 60 mins., $9.99, ISBN 1-57132-702-9; -703-7, ages 2-5, June)
Eddie Murphy's Dr. Dolittle may be on the big screen these days, but Baby Dolittle: Neighborhood Animals, the latest from Baby Einstein, is playing on small screens everywhere. The company's distinguished blend of classical music, live-action footage and puppetry aimed at very young viewers here focuses on dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks and other critters likely to be seen in backyards, parks or farms. A companion volume, Baby Dolittle: World Animals, is due out later this month. (Baby Einstein, dist. by Artisan Family Home Entertainment, 30 mins., $14.98, ISBN 1-892309-59-9, ages 1-4, May)
HarperChildren's Audio continues its re-release rollout of classic backlist titles with Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories and Other Tales performed by the late British actor Boris Karloff. Just So stories include "How the Leopard Got His Spots" and "The Elephant's Child"; the "other stories" are tales from Kipling's The Jungle Book, including "Mowgli's Brothers." (Unabridged, three cassettes, 4 hrs., $22 ISBN 0-694-52476-X, ages 7-up, July).
