Or...what to read when you need a Jim Dale fix and you don't want to listen to the Harry Potter books again.
Mary Rollins and I are loving the Peter and the Starcatchers series, written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I don't know about you, but I was always a fan of Dave Barry's column back in the day which was probably the days before Peddie and Isabug knew how to read.
In anticipation of a recent mom & daughter college visit driving adventure, I bought Peter & the Starcatchers audiobook narrated by Jim Dale to entertain us on our way to North Carolina & Virginia. We finished the first book en route and enjoyed it so much that I needed the second book, Peter & the Shadow Thieves for the drive home. They were delightful, combining both a very good story and the most wonderful reading by everyone's favorite narrator, Jim Dale. While it was a little odd to hear the female protagonist speaking with Hermione's voice and we had to remind ourselves each time we turned the book on that we were listening to Peter and not Harry -- it was a worthy substitute. And, unlike so many YA books, these are actually well written and the dialogue is funny rather than awkward and stilted (i.e. "Sleep, my Bella. Dream happy dreams. You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours. Sleep, my only love.").
Next week we are listening to third book as we head off to visit Belmont University.
What are you reading?