WINNIE-THE-POOH

Judging by his smooth, superior performance here, British actor Broadbent may well have spent lots of time in Milne's Hundred Acre Wood. To generations of children who know the Disney-fied version of these characters, Broadbent's Pooh will sound slightly more buffoonish than merely daffy (as Pooh appears in so many of the Disney animated films). However, this new interpretation is well in keeping with the author's creation of the Bear of Very Little Brain. And Pooh's sweet and loyal attributes are never tarnished. Via Broadbent's treatment, the beloved gang that includes enthusiastic Tigger, agitated Rabbit, melancholy Eeyore and, of course, level-headed Christopher Robin, journeys through a series of familiar adventures and maintains a place of honor in the children's audiobook canon of classics. This recording joins those by the late Charles Kuralt as some of the best adaptations of the material. Ages 5-up. (Oct. 2003).