Little Wolf's Book of Badness by Ian Whybrow (Harper Collins), read by Griff Rhys Jones.
Far and away one of the most hilarious children's audiobooks available, Whybrow's prizewinning tale is wonderful. No one could hope to read Little Wolf's vivid account of his journey to Cunning College in the hopes of fulfilling his father's ambitions for his future boldness with more imagination and verve than comic genius Griff Rhys Jones, mimic extraordinaire. At the college, Little Wolf is subjected to the dastardly carry-on of Big Bad Wolf, a rotten teacher and a worse uncle. Poor Little Wolf, he tries so hard to be bad and despatches vivid reports of his activities back to his Mum and Dad in the form of letters ranging from the desperate to the philosophical. Fate leads Little Wolf to the local cub scout camp, where his uncle disgraces himself but Little Wolf is welcomed with open arms - and eventually decides to become a scout. A range of clever sound effects and atmospheric snatches of music add to the pace of a reading which is so funny, perhaps it is not quite suitable for listening to in the car. It has an age guide of seven-plus, but my four-year-old already knows parts of it by heart and frankly, a performance this good is suitable for children and adults of all ages.
Harry the Poisonous Centipede by Lynne Reid Banks (Harper Collins), read by the author.
A clever enough, if quite ordinary, yarn about a little centipede who has scant interest in adventure, primarily because he is not all that brave. A friend, however, sets him on the path of a series of encounters. It has its moments, but the real problem here is that one either likes Reid Bank's rather pompous style of delivery or not. We didn't, so we won't be playing it again. The age guide here is six-plus but our discerning four-year-old tester suggested "it's probably meant for babies".
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (Harper Collins), read by Richard E. Grant.
Grant gives a polished if somewhat restrained reading of this abridged version of a lively, well-known story about what happens when a modest gift of a plastic Red Indian brave comes to life. The little Indian quickly overshadows Omri's other presents including his long-awaited skateboard. Grant, more suited to adult fiction, proves too deadpan except when he moves out of the main narrative. There are exciting passages but overall, despite the magic, it is duller than I expected. "Toy Story is better" announced the four-year-old with a sigh.
