March 2018 – Shelf Life

ACADEMY AWARD®-WINNING F. MURRAY ABRAHAM NARRATES NEW RECORDING OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES ALONG WITH ENSEMBLE CAST

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES is the newest installment in Listening Library’s Classics series that will be available as an audiobook download on March 27, 2018, in time to celebrate International Children’s Book Day, which has been celebrated on Andersen’s birthday (April 2) every day since 1967. Brought to life by Academy Award®-winning actor F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Homeland) and a full cast of narrators, and featuring original music by Michael Bacon and original cover art by LeUyen Pham, this collection contains Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved fairy tales, in addition to a selection of lesser-known favorites.

In addition to F. Murray Abraham, a stellar cast contributes to this special new recording of timeless favorites:

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES

Read for you by F. MURRAY ABRAHAM with

EDOARDO BALLERINI

MARISSA CALIN

CYNTHIA DARLOW,

ARI FLIAKOS,

DION GRAHAM,

JANUARY LaVOY,

JENNIFER LIM,

EUAN MORTON,

ROBERT PETKOFF,

REBECCA SOLER

and MARC THOMPSON

Music by MICHAEL BACONStories include: The Princess and the Pea; Thumbelina; The Little Mermaid; The Emperor’s New Clothes; The Steadfast Tin Soldier; The Wild Swans; The Nightingale; The Ugly Duckling; The Snow Queen; The Little Match Girl; “The Will-o’-the-Wisps are in Town,” said the Bog Witch; The Rags; The Adventures of a Thistle; Luck Can Be Found in a Stick; The Days of the Week

The audio collection features cover art by LeUyen Pham, who has illustrated more than 50 books, including Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry and Shannon and Dean Hale’s Princess in Black series. The music on the recording is by Emmy-winning composer for film and television, Michael Bacon.michaelbaconmusic.com

Unlike the Brothers Grimm, who collected and retold folklore and fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen adopted the most ancient literary forms and distilled them into a genre that was uniquely his own. His fairy tales are remarkable for their sense of fantasy, power of description, and vivid imagination. F. Murray Abraham lends his distinct voice as the narrator ofeach story, while the other 11 voices appear throughout as various characters, including Marc Thompson, beloved narrator of many bestselling Star Wars audiobooks, Euan Morton, who currently stars as King George in Hamilton, January LaVoy, known for her award-winning audiobooks from Libba Bray’s The Diviners series, and Dion Graham, 4-time Odyssey Award honoree.

As a part of our Listening Library Classics program, this new recording of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales will join our previous recordings of Grimm’s Fairy Tales read by a full cast, The Call of the Wild read by Jeff Daniels, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz read by Brooke Shields and Paul Rudd, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea read by James Frain, among others—all with original cover art by illustrators including Jerry Pinckney, Carson Ellis, Brian Floca and Noelle Stevenson.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: LeUyen Pham is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of The Princess in Black series with Shannon and Dean Hale andFreckleface Strawberry with Julianne Moore. She wrote and illustrated Big Sister, Little Sister, The Bear Who Wasn’t There, and is the illustrator of numerous other picture books, including The Boy Who Loved Math. She lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and her two adorable sons.

Listening Library DN on sale 3/27/18 CD on sale 5/1/18

Leslie Odom, Jr. originated the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical phenomenon Hamilton. Since then, he has performed for sold-out audiences, sung for the Obamas at the White House, and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. But before he landed the role of a lifetime in one of the biggest musicals of all time, Odom put in years of hard work as a singer and an actor.

With personal stories from his life, Odom asks the questions that will help you unlock your true potential and achieve your goals even when they seem impossible. What work did you put in today that will help you improve tomorrow? How do you surround yourself with people who will care about your dreams as much as you do? How do you know when to play it safe and when to risk it all for something bigger and better?

These stories will inspire you, motivate you, and empower you for the greatness that lies ahead, whether you’re graduating from college, starting a new job, or just looking to live each day to the fullest.

Odom was most recently seen in the blockbuster Broadway musical Hamilton, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the role of “Aaron Burr.” He is a Grammy Award winner as a principal soloist on Hamilton’s Original Broadway Cast Recording, which won the 2015 award for Best Musical Theater Album. Odom, Jr. originated the role of “Burr” in a sold-out run at The Public Theater in 2015, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.

As a recording artist, his self-titled debut album was part-funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised $40,971. The album was released in 2014 by Borderlight Entertainment, Inc. Odom has appeared on “Smash,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Gotham,” “Person of Interest,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House of Lies,” “Vanished” and “CSI: Miami.” He also starred in the feature film Murder on the Orient Express.

Leslie Odom, Jr.’s upcoming visit is part of Anderson’s Bookshops’ calendar of special author events. Anderson’s Bookshops specialize in book sales, author events, book signings, and building a sense of community, learning and fun. The store has been helping Naperville readers for six generations. Additional locations include Downers Grove, at 5112 Main Street (630)-963-2665 and La Grange, at 26 S. La Grange Rd. (708) 582-6353. A toy shop, Anderson’s Toyshop, at 111 W. Jefferson Ave., in Naperville, opened in 2016. Key to Anderson’s success has been special author events, like the March 31 program with Leslie Odom, Jr.