Author: Jake G. Panda
Listen up. If you're looking for trouble, you've found it. His name's Jake G. Panda and he's a wildlife investigator. This hard-boiled bear works at a flophouse for endangered critters called the Last Resort. He's the hotel snoop. The resident fuzz. It's his job to keep these unusual guests safe and outta harm's way.
This hilarious first installment of The Endangered Files is a wild and woolly mystery involving a missing guest, a green bird, and a bunch of double-crossing critters all hot on the trail of The Cursed Dodo. It's designed to introduce young listeners to the subject of endangered species in a fun and informative way.
So join this tough talking panda detective and a cast of endangered creatures on a globe-trotting audio adventure that will appeal to young and old alike.
HALL WAYS REVIEW:
The Case of the Cursed Dodo is engaging from the get-go. The tone is set in the initial lines, where
the narrator tells listeners that we are hearing the unfolding of a script of a
long forgotten movie – of the jungle noir type, of course.
Kids and adults alike will love this
action packed, hilarious story that feels like a Dick Tracy story, but with more
cheesy jokes. Author Jake Panda enjoys his
plays-on-words and literary devices – and this book is pure gold for an English
teacher to use in the classroom. A few examples of potential lessons:
“Bedouin Joe, a Bimini boa, sits in
a booth behind glass.”
“The place was jumping like a tree
frog on a trampoline.”
A “dizzy grizzly” says, “Any time,
Honey,” and in response, our hero says, “I wish she wouldn’t call me that. It
makes me feel all sticky; if there’s one thing I aint, it’s sweet.”
And of course, there’s the
guaranteed laugh with a poop reference:
“Jake
pulls out his magnifying glass and examines a couple of round pellets on the
ground. Jake recognizes the droppings. ‘Something must have scared the crap out
of him.’”
This full cast narration is
fabulous. The main narrator, Michael McConnohoie nails it with his timing and
pacing and just the right dose of sarcasm. The numerous other voice actors
carry off the accents and really bring life to critter characters of all shape,
size, and color. A great addition is the well-placed sound effects that harken back to old time weekly radio serials. Older listeners will likely recognize
some voices as nods to comedians and actors from back in the day, but kids will
just laugh. It’s just a blast to listen to.
There are a lot of characters and a
lot of action, so it’s super helpful that at the beginning of each chapter,
there is a short recap of the prior chapter. At just two and a half hours running time, The Case of the Cursed Dodo is long
enough to give listeners plenty of entertainment, but short enough that kids
won’t lose interest.
I highly recommend this audio book
and look forward to more adventures from Jake the Panda, his friends, and of
course, the bad guys – er, the bad critters – that make his life interesting.
Thank you to Audiobookworm
Promotions for the free download in exchange for my honest review – the only kind
I give.
Jake G. Panda is a wildlife investigator. A hardboiled Winnie-the-Pooh. He likes bamboo and saving endangered animals. He is the author of The Endangered Files, a mystery series about his misadventures in the protection business.
His partner in crime, the fella who helps write these books because, let's be honest, it's not easy typing with big, clunky bear paws, resides somewhere in New England. He has written his fair share of stuff, mostly for the big screen. And some of it has actually been projected. He likes to keep a low profile and lets Jake do all the talking.
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