Six Crimson Cranes audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
A princess is cursed into silence and her six brothers are turned into cranes. Emily Woo Zeller’s reading of the story won an award.
Short answer: for the Six Crimson Cranes audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (100% confidence, clear cut). Emily Woo Zeller reads it for Listening Library in 12 hours 54 minutes, unabridged, the only recording we found. It is one quest told in the first person by Shiori, and the reading won an AudioFile Earphones Award. One viewpoint, one narrator, praised narration and a print edition over 400 pages favour audio, and nothing confirmed points to print.
Listen on Audible
The book has one viewpoint and one narrator, the reading won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and the book is long. Nothing confirmed points to print.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 100%, which puts it in the clear cut band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | On Audible UK | US edition (Listening Library) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Emily Woo Zeller | Emily Woo Zeller |
| Length | Not shown on the Audible UK page we read | 12 hours 54 minutes (12h 54m), per Audible Canada and Australia |
| At 1.5x | about 8h 36m | about 8h 36m |
| At 2x | about 6h 27m | about 6h 27m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Listening Library, 2021 | Listening Library, released 6 July 2021 |
| Print length | 480 pages (Hodder & Stoughton paperback) | 456 pages (Knopf hardcover, 2021, with a map) |
Only one recording was found, Emily Woo Zeller’s for Listening Library, and no UK-specific recording turned up. AudioFile lists it at 12.75 hours and Libro.fm at 12h 53m.
Lengths checked 23 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from 12h 54m.
Six Crimson Cranes
Elizabeth Lim
- Genre
- Young adult fantasy; a fairy-tale retelling
- Published
- 2021 (Knopf in the US, Hodder & Stoughton in the UK)
- Length
- 480 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 12 hrs 54 mins, Emily Woo Zeller
- Series
- Followed by The Dragon’s Promise (2022); a prequel, Her Radiant Curse, came out in 2023
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: single point of view and narrator (7), award-winning or praised narration (6), long book (3), 16 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 100% confidence (clear cut).
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Emily Woo Zeller, Listening Library, 2021, 12h 54m, unabridged
- Recognition
- AudioFile Earphones Award; one of AudioFile’s best audiobooks of 2021
- Critic review
- School Library Journal praises Zeller’s voicing
- Alternatives
- None found
- What you miss
- The map in the US hardback, if your edition has one
What this book actually is
Six Crimson Cranes is a young adult fantasy by Elizabeth Lim, published in 2021 by Knopf in the US and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. It retells the fairy tale The Six Swans, and the publisher says it also draws on Cinderella, the legend of Chang E and The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret: forbidden magic. Her stepmother, Raikama, turns Shiori’s six brothers into cranes and curses Shiori to silence, and Shiori sets out to find them, break the curse and uncover a plot against the throne. The stepmother’s secret comes out early; the later reveals are not covered here.
The case for reading it
The case for reading is the invented world. Kiata is invented, and the names come with it: Raikama, Shiori’anma, Kiki the paper bird and six brothers. If you like to see a name written down before you trust it, print helps. The US hardback (Knopf, 456 pages) also includes a map; whether the UK paperback (Hodder & Stoughton, 480 pages) prints one is not confirmed.
Neither is a strong reason on its own, and no reviewer we found reports losing track of the names.
The case for listening to it
This is one quest told by one girl, which is the kind of story audio handles best. For much of the book Shiori cannot speak aloud, and Emily Woo Zeller has described the challenge as voicing “a character who cannot use her voice for most of the book”. AudioFile gave the recording an Earphones Award, praising distinct voices for the stepmother, the snakes that carry her curse, and Kiki.
The unabridged recording runs 12 hours 54 minutes, about 8 hours 36 minutes at 1.5x.
The audiobook in detail
Emily Woo Zeller reads the only recording found, published by Listening Library in 2021. Audible Canada and Australia list it at 12 hours 54 minutes; AudioFile gives 12.75 hours and Libro.fm 12h 53m. The Audible UK page we read did not show this title’s length, so the UK figure is not confirmed.
There is no cast or music. The sequel, The Dragon’s Promise, is also read by Zeller (14h 26m on Audible UK), and the prequel, Her Radiant Curse, runs 13h 17m on Audible UK.
Who should ignore this verdict
Anyone who likes to see invented names spelled out before trusting them, and anyone who follows a journey on a map. Both point to print.
Audiobook
- Read by Emily Woo Zeller, AudioFile Earphones Award
- 12h 54m, or about 8h 36m at 1.5x
- The only recording found
Kindle
- 480 pages (Hodder & Stoughton paperback)
- Easier if you like to see the names written down
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
The Hobbit
A quest with a map, which we decided for print.
Throne of Glass
A YA fantasy that we decided for print, partly because of its invented names.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Another fairy-tale retelling.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the Six Crimson Cranes audiobook?
Emily Woo Zeller reads it for Listening Library. It is the only recording we found.
How long is the Six Crimson Cranes audiobook?
12 hours 54 minutes, unabridged, on Audible Canada and Australia; at 1.5x about 8 hours 36 minutes and at 2x about 6 hours 27 minutes (calculated). The Audible UK page we read did not show a length.
Is the Six Crimson Cranes audiobook abridged?
No. AudioFile and Audible list it as unabridged.
Should I read or listen to Six Crimson Cranes?
Listen on our checks (100% confidence, clear cut). One quest is told in Shiori’s voice, the reading won an award, and nothing confirmed points to print.
What order are the Six Crimson Cranes books in?
By publication: Six Crimson Cranes (2021), then The Dragon’s Promise (2022). Her Radiant Curse (2023) is a prequel.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said listen on Audible. One tap, no sign-up.
Spotted a mistake on this page? Tell us and we will fix it. Or tell us how the site could be better.
How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Audible UK, Canada and Australia listings, AudioFile’s review, School Library Journal, Waterstones and library records for print, The Bookseller and Publishers Weekly, and Open Library for the cover.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
Deciding about a different book?
Search for it. If we've written it up, we'll take you to the verdict. If not, we'll add it to our list of books to check.