When Mom's voice gives out...

Redwall on audiocassette, Brian Jacques (author and narrator.)

When all the read-aloud-ers in our family get tired, it is a pleasure to have a well-read book on cassette or CD. We've finished our revisit to Narnia and today have begun a return trip to Redwall Abbey.

Brian Jacques, the author of the Redwall series, was recently in California for a book-signing tour. Good friends went and heard him speak; it was confirmed that Jacques is a really lovely person. He mentioned that as a child he was very poor, and he was often hungry. When he read books, he would read a section about a meal, and all they would say is that they ate. He would stop and say, "But, what did they eat? How did it taste? What was the meal LIKE?" Now, as I listen to the first few chapters of Redwall narrated by Mr. Jacques himself, I can see that he is not going to be guilty of the same omission. Those Redwall feasts make the mouth water. The only book I can remember talking about food more is Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Man, did that book make me hungry.

The cast of this Redwall reading is excellent. Jacques' voice is deep and rumbly, and the evil characters from the book have hilarious voices, not scary ones. Highly recommended.