The audio production of Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith, read by Jenna Lamia (Listening Library, 2001) is the November book of the month on Red Tales, Aboriginal Voices Radio, 106.5 FM, The Earth (based in Canada).

“Red Tales shares stories from Aboriginal Peoples – First Nations, Métis, Status, Non-Status, Inuit, and Indigenous peoples of Mexico, Central and South America. Red Tales features literary news and information, poetry, spoken word and excerpts of short stories and novels by Native writers.”

As for the Listening Library production, Audio File said: “Jenna Lamia’s motherless Rain is as fresh, earnest, and appealingly impertinent as the character demands, while her secondary characters sing with individuality . . . . Rich with sorrow and the longing for resolution in a life diminished by loss, the story of Rain’s journey toward her own identity is captivating and exceedingly hopeful.”

More informally, Bob Langstaff, WAMV AM/Amhert, VA said, “It’s kind of like a combination of ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘Party of Five’.”

See the schedule for Rain Is Not My Indian Name; listen online!

Note: the story was published in hardcover by HarperCollins.