The Roald Dahl Audio CD Collection [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Roald Dahl Audio CD Collection [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Audio CD: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperFestival; Abridged edition (February 20, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061214965
ISBN-13: 978-0061214967
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Roald Dahl
List Price : ~~$27.50~~
Price : $18.15
You Save : $9.35 (34%)

Customer Reviews

I purchased this recording on cassette at a flea market and have been absolutely delighted with it - oh, yeah, my 7-year-old likes it, too! Roald Dahl's voice fleshes out the stories and characters, as well as his typical dry observations, in a refreshing departure that satisfies kids and adults alike (we've been testing it). Remember the songs the Oompa-Loompas sang in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or the poems in "James and the Giant Peach?" I found them to be a bit disruptive when I read those books as a child; didn't "get" them. Hearing Mr. Dahl read them really allowed me to enjoy them as well.
One word to the content: I'd forgotten that Roald Dahl does write (and read) about some tough stuff, "warts and all," as it were. Sponge and Speicker are hateful and abusive to James. The three farmers in "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" are portrayed in disgusting detail. James loses his parents scarily and suddenly when they are killed in New York (richly enough, they are eaten by a rhinocerous, which are neither native to New York nor carniverous). It's a tough world in his books. Yet it's a wondrous, fanciful one. I want my son to hang on to the perfect illusion of the latter and learn about the former aspect of the world as late as possible. He's already got hip to the tough world bit, though; so we'll aim to integrate life's knocks and laughs as best we can.
The first words I hear when I start the car engine are "Kid's tape!" sometimes alternating with, "Kid's tape, please?" or "Would you please put on a kid's tape when you get the chance?" (Guess who suggested that last version?) Suffice to say, I hear a lot of "kid's tapes," so I prefer ones I can enjoy as well. This is one of those. The recordings are long, too, like this r-

I ordered this CD set for my grandkids to listen to. They have "joint custody" of the set. It rotates from house to house by the week. This is part of a circulating set that they listen to a bedtime. On busy nights, when Mom and Dad don't have time to read, this satisfies their desire for a bedtime story, plus it lasts longer than a short story or two. They sometimes drift off to sleep listening to the CDs. With 11 grandkids, this comes in handy. I'm very glad I bought this set and am so impressed that it is read by the author. This way we get the intended inflection and each nuance.