Piper Green and the Fairy Tree: Going Places
Narrator Tavia Gilbert knows how to bring schoolkids and the drama of their interactions to life. Piper Green–a girl who has a Fairy Tree in her yard–is embarking on an imaginary trip to China with her classmates. Right away Piper fibs that, like her friends, she has plenty of experience flying in airplanes. So her classmates decide she should be the trip’s flight attendant. If only she had confessed her lack of knowledge about airplane travel! Gilbert’s portrayal of Piper has all the vocal animation needed as she attempts to keep up with her fib–from deep despair to full panic to determination. Gilbert gives Piper’s classmates childlike voices in high-pitched, comforting, or know-it-all tones; her teacher is authoritative and a master of pilot lingo; neighbors sound warm, interested, and gently soothing. Young listeners will appreciate this spunky heroine and her classroom friends. AudioFile Magazine