OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile
Joan Aiken’s beloved children’s novel (now in its fiftieth year of continuous printing) by her own explicit design contains all the elements of Victorian melodrama—parents presumed lost at sea, the two plucky cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, a scheming instructress, a loyal nursemaid and resourceful goose boy, and cross-England treks. What’s more, it’s got wolves. Aiken’s daughter Lizza has a dual role in this production. She shares a foreword that provides insight into the author’s life and its relationship to the story, and she narrates the story itself with the familiarity that comes from hearing it in process as a child. Aiken’s voice has an ethereal quality that quickens one’s transport to this cruel world. She spellbindingly holds the listener in its grip. This is a treasure! A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
The Washington Post
…may well be the most quietly influential children's fantasy novel of its time…Gusto, in language, plotting and general outrageousness, characterizes [The Wolves of Willoughby Chase]…Aiken's invention never flags…
—Michael Dirda
From the Publisher
"A masterpiece...a copybook lesson in those virtues that a classic children's book must possess."--Time.
School Library Journal - Audio
Gr 4–7—The release of this audiobook coincides with the 50th anniversary of the publication of Aiken's well-loved novel (Doubleday, 1962), and it couldn't be a more fitting tribute. The narrator, the author's daughter Lizza Aiken, savors every word as she takes us through the dark wolf infested woods of Willoughby Chase to the rich, luxurious world of Bonnie, a headstrong only child whose world suddenly descends into hardship and grief at the hands of the unscrupulous Miss Slighcarp and her cohorts when her parents leave for a sea voyage. Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia are sent to a school for orphans. Aiken voices Sylvia's longing and Bonnie's defiance as she tries to take on the numerous villains. But there are gentle voices as well—the dear housekeeper, the gooseboy, and the loyal house servant—each expressing their unique concern so that listeners are never overwhelmed by the harsh treatment the girls receive. While there is a sense of the threat of wolves outside as well as inside, the book ends with the promise of spring, the wolves have headed to northern climes, the bad guys are off to jail, and order is restored. This delightful audiobook is sure to create new fans.—Edie Ching, University of Maryland, College Park
OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile
Joan Aiken’s beloved children’s novel (now in its fiftieth year of continuous printing) by her own explicit design contains all the elements of Victorian melodrama—parents presumed lost at sea, the two plucky cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, a scheming instructress, a loyal nursemaid and resourceful goose boy, and cross-England treks. What’s more, it’s got wolves. Aiken’s daughter Lizza has a dual role in this production. She shares a foreword that provides insight into the author’s life and its relationship to the story, and she narrates the story itself with the familiarity that comes from hearing it in process as a child. Aiken’s voice has an ethereal quality that quickens one’s transport to this cruel world. She spellbindingly holds the listener in its grip. This is a treasure! A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
