Clara’s Verdict
I came to this recording on a grey Tuesday afternoon, looking for something to share with my seven-year-old niece during half-term. I wanted something that felt genuinely literary rather than disposable, stories that would not embarrass either of us and would reward the child’s attention without flattering it. Within the first ten minutes of A Necklace of Raindrops, I realised that Joan Aiken had solved that problem fifty years ago, and that Lizza Aiken’s narration brings that solution back to vivid, immediate life.
This is one of the finest short-story collections in the children’s canon, and one that has maintained its following across multiple generations of readers in a way that franchised children’s fiction rarely achieves. Eight tales, each self-contained and complete, each with the internal logic of old European folk narrative: wishes that arrive with consequences, kindness repaid by the natural world, ordinary people caught up in extraordinary enchantments. Aiken understood that children need their stories to take them seriously, and she never condescends, not once across this hour and thirty-seven minutes. That moral seriousness, worn lightly, is what keeps the book alive.
About the Audiobook
The collection opens and closes with a birthday, a structural decision that gives it the feel of a complete and deliberate world rather than a random assortment. The title story, about a girl whose godfather the North Wind gives her a necklace of raindrops to keep her permanently dry, is a master class in compact fantasy: the premise is delightfully absurd and the emotional logic is airtight. Aiken is working within the tradition of fairy tale that runs from Perrault through to Briggs and beyond, but her voice is entirely her own. There is a kind of wry intelligence to her storytelling, a sense that she is sharing something she finds genuinely funny and moving, and that quality carries through in every story.
Other highlights include a baker’s cat who swells to whale-size after his mistress feeds him yeast, a house that stands on one leg waiting for its owner to return, and a tiger that runs faster than the wind. These are not whimsical oddities deployed for effect but fully realised visions with their own internal rules. What distinguishes Aiken from lesser writers in this mode is that the magic always costs something or means something. It is never merely decorative.
Bolinda Publishing released this edition in March 2016, running to 1 hour and 37 minutes. The listening community has rewarded it with a 4.8-star average across 260 ratings, which is the kind of sustained, high-volume score that speaks to genuine quality rather than early enthusiasm from a small pool. Reviewers repeatedly mention returning to the collection across decades, discovering it as children and bringing it back for their own grandchildren, which is about as durable a literary recommendation as you can get.
The Narration
Lizza Aiken is Joan Aiken’s daughter, and that biographical fact matters here more than it might in other contexts. She does not perform these stories so much as inhabit them, speaking with the easy authority of someone who heard them first at a dining table rather than in a recording studio. Her pacing is unhurried without being slow; she trusts the imagery to do its work. The vocal differentiation between characters is subtle rather than theatrical, which suits Aiken’s prose style, which was always more interested in wonder than in spectacle.
For a collection designed to be read aloud to children, having a narrator who sounds genuinely at home in the material makes all the difference. Professional narrators of children’s books often err in one of two directions: they either perform too broadly, treating young listeners as audience members to be entertained rather than readers to be engaged, or they are insufficiently expressive, delivering the text as recitation. Lizza Aiken does neither. She sounds as though she is sharing something she loves, which is exactly right for these stories. The result is a recording that a parent or grandparent can listen to alongside a child without feeling talked down to.
What Readers Say
Love this book (5 stars, J. Holmes): « I bought 2 copies for my grandchildren, one to replace a well used paperback. The Necklace of raindrops is about the North Wind being caught up, then released by a little girl’s godfather and how the North Wind repays the kindness. »
My Favourite Book (5 stars, A M Yarrow): « Should be in every child’s book collection and Y2 classroom. Exquisite silhouettes and intelligent stories. Great for reading aloud to 6/7 year olds. »
I have loved this book since a teenager (5 stars, Gemma Allan): « I first came about this book while in the library as a teenager. The inspiration and depth of a young girl’s determination to get what belongs to her. »
Great book (5 stars, D. Griffiths): « I remembered this book as a child from the library and sought it out online, it’s been over 30 years since I last read it. The stories are serious and well written and short enough for a bedtime read. »
Who Should Listen?
This is an ideal audiobook for adults reading aloud to children aged five to ten, and equally good for solo listening by children aged seven and above who have the patience for short, complete stories rather than chapter-book serialisation. It also works beautifully for adults with a fondness for mid-century British fantasy: Aiken is working in the same tradition as Alan Garner and Lucy M. Boston, though her register is lighter and more playful. Anyone looking to introduce a young listener to the pleasures of literary fiction, as opposed to franchise tie-ins and adapted screen properties, should start here. The brevity of each story is a feature rather than a limitation: one tale fits exactly into a bedtime slot, and the variety across eight means there is always something new to look forward to.
