British actor Sach's storytelling voice is both gentle and bright in narrator mode; the introductory strains of magical-sounding strings, woodwinds and shimmery chimes mesmerize. So the stage is set for jolly fantasy-adventure,
and listeners will be eager to go along. McAllister's (Ghost at the Window
) brisk and colorful tale—part Redwall
, part Wind in the Willows
—introduces Urchin, an orphaned squirrel born on a night of riding stars and destined for great things (and potentially great danger) on the mystical, and mist-enshrouded island of Mistmantle. When Urchin accepts a position as a page to Crispin, a captain in the king's castle, he begins to discover his destiny—and it all starts with an intriguing royal murder-mystery. Sachs shifts nimbly from highbrow to common accents, giving voice to squirrels, otters, moles and hedgehogs of various station. From the sage, elderly Brother Fir to the particularly amusing earth-mother squirrel Apple, who often sputters in her excitement, Sachs has an assured, entertaining style. Ages 8-up. (Aug.)
