Stories on CD

A's new favorite book on CD to listen to is "The Princess and the Goblin," by George MacDonald. The reader, Ian Whitcomb, does an excellent job with characters' voices. There's a princess who must be brave, horrid goblins, and intricate language. The story was written in 1872, when Princesses were Real Princesses, and Magical Grandmothers were Really Magical.

And we like it a whole lot better than "Mrs. Pigglewiggle," which can be summed up as follows: It's the 1940's! Mothers are Clueless ("Honey! I've called everyone and I'm at my wit's end!") Fathers are Distant and Sarcastic ("Don't call me at the office. Give him a spanking and tell him he can keep it all to himself, heh-heh.") and Children have a Cornucopia of Obnoxious Habits for young modern listeners to copy. But never fear! Call Mrs. Pigglewiggle, A Strange Old Woman Who Loves Children So Much that she Resorts to Reverse Psychology and Tricks to Correct Their Behavior."

Oh, how I longed for a Veruca Salt ending read by Gene Wilder. We're probably going to write the Library about this one....