[AUDIOBOOK REVIEW] Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales and Other Stories: Thumbelina, The Talking Eggs, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Emperor and the Nightingale

Title:  Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales and Other Stories: Thumbelina, the Talking Eggs, The Fisherman and His Wife, the Emperor and the Nightingale

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre:  China / Fairy Tale / Folktale / Magic / Animals

Year Published: 2006

Year Read: 2009

Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Rude Behavior and Intense Moments)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

When I first heard that Rabbit Ears was finally releasing their classic stories on audio CDs, I was so excited and happy because not only will I have the pleasure of listening to these fantastic classics over and over again, but now everyone will have a chance to listen to this fantastic series! “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is an audio cd that is full of various fairy tales created by Rabbit Ears and with a vast array of famous celebrities along with engaging music for each story, this audio cd is a delightful treat for both children and adults!

Since I have reviewed half of these stories already, I am just going to briefly summarize each story on this audio cd:

The Fisherman and his Wife
Told by: Jodie Foster
Music by: Van Dyke Parks
In this Brothers Grimm tale, a meek fisherman stumbles upon a magical flounder who promises the poor fisherman that he will grant him several wishes if he frees him. When the Fisherman told his wife about this, his wife suddenly gets greedy and she starts wishing like crazy.

The Talking Eggs
Told by: Sissy Spacek
Music by: Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil
A kind girl named Blanchett learns about the importance of being kind towards other and how it brings its own rewards.

Thumbelina
Told by: Kelly McGillis
Music by: Mark Isham
A tiny little girl named Thumbelina, who is no bigger than a thumb goes on a wild adventure in the outside world that changes her life forever.

The Emperor and the Nightingale
Told by: Glenn Close
Music by: Mark Isham
An Emperor learns about the importance of the real thing when the real nightingale has to save the Emperor from a horrible fate.

Oh my goodness!! Never would I have thought that I would enjoy this series now as much as I did as a child! Every narrator on this audio CD has greatly contributed enough excitement and tenderness to each of these stories that will have any child and adult listening to this series over and over again! Out of all four of these stories presented in this audio cd, my favorites were “The Talking Eggs” and “The Emperor and the Nightingale.” In “The Talking Eggs” Sissy Spacek has indeed done an excellent job at narrating this story as she provides a Southern flair to the story and actually puts so much emotion in her narration whenever she is enacting a character yelling or being soft-hearted. Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil’s music is clearly catchy and inspiring as it has a slight country theme that will have many children toe-tapping to the music until the very end of the story! In “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” Glenn Close does a splendid job at narrating this story as she sounds extremely tender and soothing and Mark Isham’s music provides a magnificent presentation of Chinese inspired music that will have everyone be mesmerized by the music.

The only problem I had with this audio CD was that it did not come with a book or in this case, books, to accompany each story. For anyone who has grown up with the Rabbit Ears series since they were children might possibly be disappointed in not receiving a book to go with each story. However, because the celebrities’ narrations are so effective and creative, this audio cd is still a treat to listen to. 

Overall “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is a fantastic audio cd for both children and adults who love reading old classics and fairytales and will be an instant treat for many years!

You might also like:

• Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories: How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Game Got His Hump, How the Leopard Got His Spots, The Monkey People

• Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 2: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship
• Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 3: The Bremen Town Musicians and Koi and the Kola Nuts

[AUDIOBOOK REVIEW] Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories: How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Leopard Got His Spots, The Monkey People

Title:  Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories: How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Game Got His Hump, How the Leopard Got His Spots, The Monkey People

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre:  Animals / Folktale / Manners / Respect / Africa / Colombia 

Year Published: 2007

Year Read: 2009

Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Rude Behavior)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

“Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories” is one of the first audio CDs released from Rabbit Ears Entertainment (or Rabbit Ears Productions as I fondly love to call it) and this audio CD features four stories called “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin,” “How the Camel Got His Hump,” “The Monkey People” and “How the Leopard Got His Spots.” Each story is narrated by a famous celebrity during the 80s and 90s and it will be an instant treat for anyone who is a huge fan of Rabbit Ears stories!

Since I have already reviewed some of these stories on separate reviews, I will just briefly summarize each story:

How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
Told by: Jack Nicholson
Music by: Bobby McFerrin
When a rude rhinoceros eats the Parsee Man’s delicious cake, the Parsee Man starts to take revenge on the rude rhinoceros.

How the Camel Got His Hump
Told by: Jack Nicholson
Music by: Bobby McFerrin
When an arrogant camel refuses to do his share of work, it is up to the Djinn of all Deserts to set the camel straight.

The Monkey People
Told by: Raul Julia
Music by: Lee Ritenour
When an old man comes to a village full of lazy people and shows them monkeys cut out of leaves doing all the chores, the people learn the hard way about the importance of hard work.

How the Leopard Got His Spots
Told by: Danny Glover
Music by: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
When all the animals moved to the forest to hide from the Leopard and the Ethiopian, the Leopard and the Ethiopian must learn to camouflage themselves in order to eat to survive!

Oh my goodness! Imagine my surprise when I first heard about this animal series coming out on audio CD! I was so excited about listening to Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover and Raul Julia narrating these fantastic tales that I remembered from my youth! Each story was extremely interesting to the next story and the narrators and the musicians have both done an excellent job at narrating and providing appropriate music to each story. Out of all four stories featured on this audio CD, my favorites were “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin” and “How the Camel Got His Hump” which were both narrated by Jack Nicholson and both had music by Bobby McFerrin. In both stories “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin” and “How the Camel Got His Hump,” Jack Nicholson narrates both stories in an extremely silky voice that soothes you to the bone as you hear him narrate these stories and anyone who has seen Jack Nicholson in “The Shining,” will definitely be surprised at how calm he sounds in narrating these stories! Bobby McFerrin is truly magnificent in providing music for each story as he mainly uses his voice to create music for each story which brings so much creativity to the stories. Another story that I enjoyed on this disc was “How the Leopard Got His Spots” as I loved the way that Danny Glover narrates this story in an African accent which brings creativity to this story and Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music is truly wonderful as they vocally sing in African tones.

Again, there is no book to go with this audio CD; however the narration and the music provided in this audio CD will help many fans still love this audio CD. 

All in all, “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories” is a true treat for fans of the fantastic Rabbit Ears series and who love Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover and Raul Julia and I am sure that many children and adults will love this audio CD for many years to come! I would recommend this audio CD to children ages seven and up since the “Just So Stories” might be too complicated for younger children to understand.

You might also like:

• Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics Volume 1: Pecos Bill and Puss in Boots

• Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 2: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship
• Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 3: The Bremen Town Musicians and Koi and the Kola Nuts

[AUDIOBOOK REVIEW] Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics Volume 1: Pecos Bill and Puss in Boots

Title:  Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics Volume 1:  Pecos Bill and Puss in Boots

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre:  Tall Tale / Fairy Tale / France / Humor / Animals

Year Published: 2007

Year Read: 2011

Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury: Storybook Classics #1

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Crude Humor)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

 Imagine two of your favorite celebrities (Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman in this case) narrating stories that are targeted towards children.  That is a fantastic thought is it not?  That is what I thought whenever I listen to any of these classic “Rabbit Ears Treasury” audio CD series and this small collection which is called “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics Volume 1: Pecos Bill and Puss in Boots” is definitely an audio CD that is right up my alley!

I have pretty much already summarized both of these stories through their book counterparts, so I will just briefly summarize each story:

Pecos Bill
Told by: Robin Williams
Music by: Ry Cooder

Join the wild and rollicking adventures of America’s number one cowboy, Pecos Bill! Listen to the stories of how Pecos Bill created the first cattle drive, meet up with a sassy yet beautiful cowgirl and managed to wrestle with a cyclone single-handedly!

Puss in Boots
Told by: Tracey Ullman
Music by: Jean-Luc Ponty

When the youngest son of a miller wanted to eat Puss in Boots, Puss in Boots tries to help the youngest son win the hand of the king’s daughter and get a kingdom in order to save his hide!

 Be amazed! Be very, very amazed at what two small stories can pack into an hour!

These two tales that are considered the more hilarious and modernized versions of the classic fairy tales are pure epic classics! 

My favorite of the two stories is probably “Pecos Bill” because Robin Williams has always been one hilarious actor and his narration of this ancient tall tale really brought this story to life!  I really loved the spectacular adventures that Pecos Bill endures such as lassoing a cyclone in the west!  Ry Cooder’s music is simply magical and fits the playful mood of the story perfectly as it gives the story a more energetic feel.  In the second story, “Puss in Boots,” Tracey Ullman is just as hilarious in her narration as Robin Williams was in narrating “Pecos Bill.”  I always have a thing for actors portraying certain accents fluently and Tracey Ullman portrayed both a French accent and a British accent within this story with such clarity that I actually imagined myself living during those times.

Jean-Luc Ponty’s music is extremely graceful and it fits the somewhat sophisticated mood of this story perfectly as the music is mainly composed of violin musical pieces.

There is only one small and tiny problem with this audio CD and it is that there is no book to accompany it.  For those of you who have grown up with the Rabbit Ears stories during the 80s and 90s, you might remember that there used to be a little something called books and cassettes where the books are sold along with the tape cassettes that contain the stories being narrated by the celebrities.  So, you might be a bit disappointed that there are no books accompanying these audio CDs because, if you wanted to share these stories with your children or with your friends, then it might be a bit difficult to show them how the story goes without the book being accompanied with the audio CD.

Overall, “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics Volume 1: Pecos Bill and Puss in Boots” is definitely one collection of classic stories that you certainly do not want to miss and it will definitely remain with many children for years to come!

Now before I close up this review, I would like to ask you all a question:
 
Question: Have you heard of Rabbit Ears Productions before?

If you had heard of this company before, relate your favorite stories or your experiences with this series or if you have not heard of this series before, go ahead and check out this fantastic series!

[AUDIOBOOK REVIEW] Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 2: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship

Title: Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales Volume 2: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre: Fairy Tales / Folktales / Russia / France


Year Published: 2007


Year Read: 2008


Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury: World Tales #2

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Crude Humor)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Finally! Rabbit Ears have managed to put out audio CDs of their fantastic series after being gone from television for over nine years! “Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship” is audio CD that contains two stories that came from around the world that are narrated by famous celebrities along with brilliant music from well known musicians and it will be an instant treat for both children and adults!

Since I already summarize these two stories in my past reviews, I will just briefly summarize each story:

The White Cat
Told by: Emma Thompson
Music by: Joe Jackson
In this tale, the youngest son of a king tries to complete several difficult tasks set out from his father in order to inherit the kingdom. Of course, along the way, he meets up with a beautiful white cat and the young prince’s adventures soon begin!

The Fool and the Flying Ship
Told by: Robin Williams
Music by: The Klezmer Conservatory Band
In this tale, a goofy country bumpkin along with his crew of superhuman companions go off to the Tsar’s palace in a flying ship in order to complete several difficult tasks ordered by the Tsar.

Oh my goodness! This is absolutely my most favorite audio CD out of the whole Rabbit Ears Treasury series! I loved this audio CD because the narrations on both stories are truly inventive and creative and both narrators, Emma Thompson and Robin Williams, both bring excitement and humor to the stories they each narrate. In “The White Cat,” Emma Thompson narrates the story with such elegance and grace that the story comes off as being extremely soothing for both children and adults to listen to and Emma Thompson also brings tension and drama to this story when she uses a raspy voice to voice out the evil troll. Joe Jackson’s music is truly elegant and beautiful and it greatly brings true elegance to the story. In contrast,” The Fool and the Flying Ship” has a more hilarious and raucous tone thanks to Robin Williams! Robin Williams gleefully narrates this story with such energy that children and adults will be rolling around laughing for ages! Robin Williams’ biggest highlight in his narration was when he was voicing the Fool himself as Robin Williams uses a Russian accent to voice out the high pitched voice of the Fool. The Klezmer Conservatory Band’s music goes well with Robin Williams’ raucous narration as they are both full of hilarity.

Overall, “Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales: The White Cat and the Fool and the Flying Ship” is a brilliant audio CD for children and adults who love listening to stories from around the world and who love the talents of Robin Williams and Emma Thompson. I would recommend this audio CD to children ages five and up due to the story “The Fool and the Flying Ship” having some jokes that might be aimed at older children.

*~A Little Side Note~*
There is no book to go with this audio CD and many people who grew up with the Rabbit Ears series might be a bit disappointed, even though the narration is still top notch in this audio CD. 

 

[BOOK REVIEW] The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Title:  The Velveteen Rabbit

Author:  Margery Williams

Artist:  David Jorgensen

Genre:  Fantasy / Toys / Drama


Year Published:  1985


Year Read: 2010


Series: Storybook Classics

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Minor Rude Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

 “The Velveteen Rabbit” is Rabbit Ears’ first classic story that is based off of Margery Williams’ popular tale and it is about how a toy rabbit learns the true meaning of being real. With Meryl Streep’s tender narration, George Winston’s soft music and David Jorgensen’s beautiful illustrations, “The Velveteen Rabbit” is an instant classic that children will watch over and over again.

What made this video truly memorable was Meryl Streep’s tender and soothing narration. Meryl Streep gives the story a very subtle mood by narrating in a graceful and soft-spoken tone that many children will be mesmerized by her narration. Meryl Streep has also done a brilliant job at expressing the various emotions that each of the characters experience throughout the story. The scene where I think that Meryl Streep’s narration stood out the most was the scene where the real rabbits tell the Velveteen Rabbit that he is not real and the Velveteen Rabbit begins to cry and Meryl Streep actually sounds like she is about to cry in this scene which truly brought out the realism of the situation in this scene. George Winston’s piano solo music is extremely beautiful and engaging, as his music is both happy and sorrowful, depending on the scene. The scene where I think that George Winston’s musical abilities truly shine was the scene where one of the real rabbits was dancing in front of the Velveteen Rabbit and George Winston plays the piano in such a dramatic and fast paced tone that I found myself loving every second of that scene. The video’s true highlight is David Jorgensen’s illustrations as they are extremely beautiful and captivating. David Jorgensen makes all the characters look extremely realistic, which gives the story a sense of realism and the images that stood out the most to me were the images of the real rabbits, as they look realistic and beautiful.

“The Velveteen Rabbit” is a beautiful story about knowing the importance of true love and children will easily relate to this story as they will feel sympathy for the Velveteen Rabbit trying to find the true meaning of being real. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since small children might be upset at the fact that the Velveteen Rabbit feels upset when he realizes he is not like the other real rabbits.