An 11-year-old girl and her dad wrote an A to Z children’s book together, then read every word of it aloud themselves. Olivia Weisman and her father, Loren Weisman, recorded the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook on October 10, 13 and 14, 2026, starting in a sound fort of pillows and finishing the last pages in Loren’s car before the start of a school day, one microphone between them. No hired narrator and no AI voice: a father and daughter reading the book they wrote.
| Title | Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America: A to Z with Friends, Foods and Places to Go |
|---|---|
| Read by | Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman, the authors |
| Format | Unabridged audiobook, 36 chapters |
| Running time | 25 minutes and 54 seconds |
| Ages | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Dadau Publishing, Orlando, Florida |
| ISBN | 9780466803018 (store and library edition, through INaudio) |
| Release | October 14, 2026 |
| Where to listen | Audible, Amazon, Apple Books, Spotify, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Chirp, Libro.fm and other stores, and libraries through OverDrive, hoopla and other library services. Links are added as each listing goes live. |
The Story Behind the Audiobook
Olivia and Loren recorded the audiobook themselves, reading every word of the book, front to back. They built a little sound fort of pillows, sat on each side of one Shure MV88+ microphone, and recorded into GarageBand.
They recorded it in three sessions. The first was Saturday, October 10, 2026, at D. Starr Homestead Studios, Orlando, Florida. On Tuesday, October 13, Loren went back to the same room on his own to read The Real Places, the chapter of addresses. The last was Wednesday morning, October 14, 2026, at Ed’s Makeshift Mobile Recording Studio (Loren’s Car), Orlando, Florida, before school for Olivia and before an All Pro Dad breakfast.
They did not read the book straight through in one go. They recorded it in parts, a page, a row or a line at a time: 156 takes across the three sessions, 284 minutes in all, for an audiobook that runs 26 minutes. The numbers are below.
The script, the chapter order and the credits were all set before the first take, so the finished files were ready the same morning the last pages were read. Sending the audiobook out to the stores and libraries cost nothing.
The Audiobook by the Numbers
Every number here is counted from the recordings and the script. The times are from GarageBand, when each take began and ended, rounded to the nearest minute.
| Saturday, October 10, 2026 | Olivia and Loren, at D. Starr Homestead Studios, Orlando, Florida 12:18 p.m. to 4:11 p.m., 233 minutes (3 hours and 53 minutes) 131 takes |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | Loren, reading The Real Places, at D. Starr Homestead Studios, Orlando, Florida 2:50 p.m. to 3:09 p.m., 19 minutes 5 takes |
| Wednesday, October 14, 2026 | Olivia and Loren, before school, at Ed’s Makeshift Mobile Recording Studio (Loren’s Car), Orlando, Florida 7:12 a.m. to 7:44 a.m., 32 minutes 20 takes |
| Time in the three recording sessions | 284 minutes (4 hours and 44 minutes) |
|---|---|
| The finished audiobook | 26 minutes (25 minutes and 54 seconds) |
The finished audiobook runs 26 minutes, just over 9 percent of the 284 minutes across the three sessions. Backstage reports that on ACX a finished hour of audiobook takes a narrator six to ten hours of recording, editing and mastering, so the finished audio is 10 to 17 percent of the work. Olivia and Loren put in that kind of time in the recording sessions alone, reading lines again until they were right rather than leaving it to AI to fix.
| Takes | 156, each a page, a row or a line of the book |
|---|---|
| Lines read | 234 |
| Words read | 2,158 |
| Chapters | 36 |
| Microphone | One Shure MV88+ |
Olivia at the Microphone
Loren worked with Olivia on her enunciation, her volume, her tempo, her posture and her awareness of her breathing.
She took every correction and applied it, and did so well, not just for a child or for someone recording for the first time. In Loren’s words, she was incredible.
Loren has recorded and produced other audiobooks, and he found his 11-year-old daughter stronger and more talented at it than some of the adults he has worked with. He was proud of how well she did for a first time.
Mixing With AI: A Producer’s Instructions
Loren is a former music producer who has worked on 700+ albums as a drummer and producer. He did not hand the recordings to Claude and say “mix and master it.” Before a single track was mixed, he wrote a few pages of direction for Claude to follow, line by line, to get the best result possible from the makeshift recording studios they created at zero cost:
- Compliance: the rules and best practices of the two places the audiobook was uploaded, set out in ACX’s audio standards and INaudio’s technical standards.
- Industry standards and baseline levels: Olivia’s voice and his own matched, and every track brought to the same level.
- Preference: how he wanted it to sound, with warmth on the voices, even spacing between lines, and lines pushed closer together where he wanted them closer.
Claude followed those directions on every track, and each track was final only when Loren approved it.
In plain terms, this is what the mix does to every track:
- EQ cleans up low rumble and high hiss and adds warmth to the voices.
- A de-esser softens sharp “s” sounds.
- Compression, at a 2 to 1 ratio, evens out the loud and soft moments so every word comes through.
- Leveling brings Olivia’s voice and Loren’s to the same volume.
- A limiter keeps the loudest peaks under the ceiling ACX and INaudio set.
- Room tone, a moment of the room’s quiet, sits at the start and the end of each track, with even spacing between lines.
Each chapter opens with its header read aloud, such as “Letter A,” so the listener hears where a new chapter begins. ACX and INaudio both ask for that. The closing credits end with “The End,” which tells the listener the book is finished, as ACX asks.
Note on AI: What It Did and What It Did Not Do
Olivia and Loren recorded every word themselves. No one else recorded it for them, no AI voice reads any part of it, and AI did not fix their voices or change how they read any word. Every word Olivia speaks is Olivia reading it, and every word Loren speaks is Loren reading it. Nothing was copied and pasted to stand in for a line.
AI was used only after the recording, to edit and enhance the mix and the master, the overall sound of what they recorded. Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, followed Loren’s line by line instructions, joined the takes in book order, checked every line against the book’s words, and brought each track to the ACX and INaudio standards. Each track was final only when Loren approved it.
No words are generated, replaced, or scripted by artificial intelligence. What you hear is Olivia and Loren, reading their own words.
The words and ideas of the book are Olivia’s and Loren’s. How the pictures were made is on the book page.
Listening Along With the Book
The audiobook follows the book page by page. Each letter page opens with the letter read aloud, from “Letter A” to “Letter Z,” and the title page chapter ends with “If you have the book, read along with us.”
With the paperback or the Kindle edition open, a child can turn the pages and follow along from Arnie the Alert Alligator to Zeebee the Zealous Zebra.
The Chapters
Thirty six chapters, in the order of the book, from the opening credits to the closing credits.
| Chapter | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Opening Credits |
| 2 | Title Page, Copyright and Dedication |
| 3 | Letter A: Arnie the Alert Alligator |
| 4 | Letter B: Bertram the Bashful Bear |
| 5 | Letter C: Chester the Cheerful Cat |
| 6 | Letter D: Daniel the Dreamy Duck |
| 7 | Letter E: Elijah the Energetic Elephant |
| 8 | Letter F: Frank the Fancy Fox |
| 9 | Letter G: George the Generous Giraffe |
| 10 | Letter H: Homer the Humble Hippopotamus |
| 11 | Letter I: Isabella the Incredible Iguana |
| 12 | Letter J: Jerry the Jolly Jellyfish |
| 13 | Letter K: Kathy the Kind Koala |
| 14 | Letter L: Larry the Loving Lion |
| 15 | Letter M: Matthew the Mindful Monkey |
| 16 | Letter N: Nathan the Neighborly Narwhal |
| 17 | Letter O: Oliver the Obedient Octopus |
| 18 | Letter P: Peter the Polite Penguin |
| 19 | Letter Q: Quincy the Questioning Quail |
| 20 | Letter R: Roger the Rebellious Raccoon |
| 21 | Letter S: Simon the Selfless Snake |
| 22 | Letter T: Thomas the Thankful Turtle |
| 23 | Letter U: Unique the Understanding Unicorn |
| 24 | Letter V: Vincent the Vain Vulture |
| 25 | Letter W: William Wyatt Winston the Witty Walrus |
| 26 | Letter X: Xavier the Xenial Xenops |
| 27 | Letter Y: Yvonne the Youthful Yak |
| 28 | Letter Z: Zeebee the Zealous Zebra |
| 29 | Where Did We Go? and A to Z at a Glance |
| 30 | Words to Know |
| 31 | The Real Places |
| 32 | Seek and Find: Hidden Letters and Look Closer |
| 33 | About the Authors |
| 34 | Thank You |
| 35 | Hidden Letters: Where Each One Is |
| 36 | Closing Credits |
Where to Listen
The audiobook is going to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books, to Spotify through Spotify for Authors, and to 24symbols, Anyplay, Audiobooks.com, AudiobooksNow, Audiolibrix, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Bokus Play, Bookmate, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Chirp, Cliq, Downpour, Everand (Scribd), Google Play, Kobo and Walmart, Libro.fm, Nextory, Storytel and TuneIn.
For libraries, it is going to Axiell, Bibliotheca, hoopla, LibraryOne, Odilo, OverDrive, Ulverscroft, Wheelers and 3Leaf Group.
Links are added to this page as each listing goes live.
About the Narrators
Olivia Weisman is the first author of Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America: A to Z with Friends, Foods and Places to Go, an A to Z children’s book she wrote with her dad, Loren Weisman, published in 2026 by Dadau Publishing in Orlando, Florida. Her own drawing is on the back cover. More on Olivia Weisman’s page.
Loren Weisman is an Orlando brand communications and optics strategist, the author of Music Business For Dummies (John Wiley and Sons), and the co-author, with his daughter, of Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America. His background includes participation on 700+ albums as a drummer and producer. More on About Loren Weisman.
Credits
| Title | Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America: A to Z with Friends, Foods and Places to Go |
|---|---|
| Authors | Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman |
| Narrators | Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman |
| Co-producers | Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman |
| Recorded at | D. Starr Homestead Studios, Orlando, Florida (October 10 and 13, 2026), and Ed’s Makeshift Mobile Recording Studio (Loren’s Car), Orlando, Florida (October 14, 2026) |
| Microphone | Shure MV88+ |
| Recording software | GarageBand |
| Mix and edit instructions | Loren Weisman, line by line |
| Mix and master | Claude (Anthropic), an AI model, following Loren Weisman’s instructions |
| Publisher | Dadau Publishing |
| Audio copyright | 2026 Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman |
| Running time | 25 minutes and 54 seconds, 36 chapters |
| Submitted | October 14, 2026, to ACX and INaudio |
For Media and Reviewers
For interviews, review copies of the audiobook and talk bookings, email speaking@lorenweisman.com. Media contact: Loren Weisman, loren@lorenweisman.com, +1-850-391-8053.
The press kit and the author media sheets have the bios, the pictures and the book details.
Questions and Answers
Is there an audiobook of Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America?
Yes. The Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook is the whole book read aloud by its two authors, Olivia Weisman and her dad, Loren Weisman. It was recorded over three days and finished on October 14, 2026.
When does the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook come out?
Its release date is October 14, 2026. Audible, Amazon, Apple Books, Spotify, Google Play, Kobo, Chirp, Libro.fm and the other stores and libraries each list it on their own schedule, and links are added to this page as each listing goes live.
How long is the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
25 minutes and 54 seconds, in 36 chapters, with 234 lines and 2,158 words read aloud.
Who narrates the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
Olivia Weisman, 11, and her dad, Loren Weisman, the two authors of the book.
Is the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook unabridged?
Yes. It is every word of the book, front to back. The only additions are the opening and closing credits, the letter read aloud at the start of each letter page, and one line inviting listeners to read along.
What age is the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook for?
The book is for ages 4 to 8, and the audiobook is the whole book read aloud.
Where can I listen to the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
On Audible, Amazon and Apple Books, on Spotify, and on Google Play, Kobo, Chirp, Libro.fm, Everand and other stores. Links are added to this page as each listing goes live.
Will the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook be in libraries?
Yes. It is going to the library services Axiell, Bibliotheca, hoopla, LibraryOne, Odilo, OverDrive, Ulverscroft, Wheelers and 3Leaf Group.
Where was the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook recorded?
In three sessions: at D. Starr Homestead Studios, Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, October 10, 2026, and again on Tuesday, October 13, when Loren read The Real Places on his own, and at Ed’s Makeshift Mobile Recording Studio (Loren’s Car), Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday morning, October 14, 2026, before school.
How long did it take Olivia and Loren Weisman to record the audiobook?
284 minutes, or 4 hours and 44 minutes, counting each session from its first take to its last: 233 minutes on Saturday, October 10, 19 minutes on Tuesday, October 13, and 32 minutes in Loren’s car on Wednesday morning, October 14. The finished audiobook, 25 minutes and 54 seconds, is just over 9 percent of that time.
How many takes did it take to record the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
156 takes, each a page, a row or a line of the book: 131 on Saturday, 5 on Tuesday and 20 on Wednesday morning. Many lines were read more than once.
Was AI used in the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
Only after the recording, to edit and enhance the mix and the master. Olivia and Loren recorded every word themselves. No one else recorded it, no AI voice reads any part of it, and AI did not fix their voices or change how they read any word. Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, enhanced the mix and the master, following Loren’s line by line instructions for the levels ACX and INaudio set and for how he wanted the audiobook to sound.
Is the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook AI narrated?
No. Olivia Weisman and Loren Weisman read every word themselves. No AI voice, voice clone or text-to-speech is used anywhere in it.
Who mixed and mastered the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, following a line by line set of mix and edit instructions written by Loren Weisman, a former music producer who has worked on 700+ albums as a drummer and producer. The instructions are a few pages of direction covering the rules, best practices and compliance of ACX and INaudio, industry standards and baseline levels, and Loren’s preferences for the sound. Each track was final only when Loren approved it.
How many chapters are in the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook?
Thirty six, from the opening credits to the closing credits, in the order of the book: the opening and closing credits, the title page, one for each letter from A to Z, and one for each section at the back of the book.
Does the Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America audiobook have music or sound effects?
No. There is no music, no page-turn sound and no other added sound. It is Olivia and Loren reading the book.
How can media request an interview or a review copy?
Email speaking@lorenweisman.com. The press kit has the author media sheets, the bios and the pictures.
More
- Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America, the book.
- How We Wrote and Published a Children’s Book Together, the family co-authoring blueprint.
- Writing a Children’s Book With My Daughter, the podcast episode.
- Recording an Audiobook With My Daughter, the podcast episode on recording it.
- Trade and library guide, for booksellers, librarians, teachers and schools.
- Alphabet Animal Adventures Across America App, the free companion app.
- Olivia Weisman.
- Dadau, short for Daddy Daughter.
- Dadau Publishing.
Updated October 14, 2026.