Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of Dragons (Classic Books on CD Collection) [UNABRIDGED]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading this book with my 10-year-old son. The language and humor are rich. It is a collection of shorter works. So far, we've just read the first story in which a little boy finds himself king and accidentally releases a fierce dragon into his kingdom. After much tribulation the boy-king figures out how to correct his mistake and return the dragon to the book from which he had escaped because of the boy-king's curiosity and disobedience.

"But when Lionel was in bed he could not sleep for thinking of the book, and when the full moon was shining with all her might and light he got up and crept down to the library and climbed up and got 'The Book of Beasts.'"

This is a brilliant book by Edith Nesbit. Unfortunately, my son hates the narration (I'm not keen on it either). He finds it difficult to understand. It isn't the accent - many of our close friends have thick accents and we've lived abroad before. It's that Ms. Gibson's voice is old-fashioned, deep & grating (like she's had a few too many cigarettes). The way she speaks is just strange - think: gravelly, sometimes staccato, strange rhythm and oddly pinched. I think this is a very poor value. I gave it two stars because the story is great. However, this is a CD and we just can't get over the narration though the sound quality is good. It may just be personal preference, but I regret the purchase. Oh, and it isn't that she does "voices" for different characters - I like that & do it when I read to my son. It's just I don't like the way she does it.

***Note: My son now loves this CD. I'm still leaving off one star for the annoying narration - because it is an audio book and should be pleasing to the ear - but it becomes less annoying if you listen long enough to desensitize your ears. And, it might not bother you. You could even like the narration.