Bill Harley seems a perfect voice and personality to introduce the stories of Camel's Hump Radio. He has a respect for childhood and brings a sense of wonder into adulthood, just right for these stories for 9-13 year olds (whose parents will want to listen in).
Here with "Stone Fox" we hear what one young reviewer tells Bill is, "the best book I ever read." Hartley ticks off the ingredients -- "suspense, great characters, and a dog." That's a time-tested recipe.
Little Willie has to earn $500 dollars to pay off the back taxes on his grandfather's farm. But how? Serendipitously, there's a race with a $500 prize – the National Dogsled Race in Jackson, Wyoming. And Little Willie has just the friend to help save the day – his dog Searchlight. But first, they'll have to face off against the wordless and seemingly invincible giant Shoshone named Stone Fox and his team of five gleaming white Samoyeds.
Want to find out how the story ends as Little Willie and Stone Fox race down Main Street to the finish line? Sorry, after half an hour, you're sent off to the library to look for the conclusion. That's a dessert no ten year old could swallow on a Sunday afternoon.
Camel's Hump's intention is to "air an excerpt that hooks the listener into the story and ends with a finish that leaves them wanting to read the rest of the book", and certainly reading the written word is an admirable undertaking. Perhaps if one knew the title in advance and had the book itself right there to dive in to, the conceit would work. But here is seems something of a cruel trick.
Actor David Townsend presents an enthused reading, though for my style perhaps a bit too theatrical – there's a difference between theater, which employs props, and reading aloud, which asks for some costumes and set design from the listener's mind.
The production and web build-out are first class. But without the last act, we can never really get over the hump.
[Note to the author: As we say in Alaska, "Sleds don't race." It's the dogs that do, as in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.]
Summary: Willy's plan is to win the National Dogsled Race and use the cash prize to save the family farm - but first he'll have to beat Stone Fox, who's never lost a race in his life.
Review of Stone Fox
Geo Beach
Posted on July 07, 2005 at 12:42 PM
Bill Harley seems a perfect voice and personality to introduce the stories of Camel's Hump Radio. He has a respect for childhood and brings a sense of wonder into adulthood, just right for these stories for 9-13 year olds (whose parents will want to listen in).
Here with "Stone Fox" we hear what one young reviewer tells Bill is, "the best book I ever read." Hartley ticks off the ingredients -- "suspense, great characters, and a dog." That's a time-tested recipe.
Little Willie has to earn $500 dollars to pay off the back taxes on his grandfather's farm. But how? Serendipitously, there's a race with a $500 prize – the National Dogsled Race in Jackson, Wyoming. And Little Willie has just the friend to help save the day – his dog Searchlight. But first, they'll have to face off against the wordless and seemingly invincible giant Shoshone named Stone Fox and his team of five gleaming white Samoyeds.
Want to find out how the story ends as Little Willie and Stone Fox race down Main Street to the finish line? Sorry, after half an hour, you're sent off to the library to look for the conclusion. That's a dessert no ten year old could swallow on a Sunday afternoon.
Camel's Hump's intention is to "air an excerpt that hooks the listener into the story and ends with a finish that leaves them wanting to read the rest of the book", and certainly reading the written word is an admirable undertaking. Perhaps if one knew the title in advance and had the book itself right there to dive in to, the conceit would work. But here is seems something of a cruel trick.
Actor David Townsend presents an enthused reading, though for my style perhaps a bit too theatrical – there's a difference between theater, which employs props, and reading aloud, which asks for some costumes and set design from the listener's mind.
The production and web build-out are first class. But without the last act, we can never really get over the hump.
[Note to the author: As we say in Alaska, "Sleds don't race." It's the dogs that do, as in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.]