Books with author Listening Library

A poignant, laugh-out-loud middle-grade novel - adapted for audio - about an 11-year-old boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang! Recipient of five-starred reviews! "Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake...heartwarming and rib-tickling." (Terri Libenson, best-selling author of Invisible Emmie) When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he's landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn't speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao. To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake-making a secret from Mama. Remy Lai's hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, with its pitch-perfect writing, makes for a scrumptious audiobook adaptation. It will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham's Real Friends, Kelly Yang's Front Desk, and Jerry Craft's New Kid. "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular 'Wimpy Kid' series...the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." (School Library Journal, starred review)

The number-one New York Times best seller! Written and narrated by superstar entertainer John Cena, an audiobook all about perseverance and believing in yourself, featuring a little monster truck named Elbow Grease! Meet Elbow Grease, a little monster truck with a big problem! He's smaller than his four brothers, but wants to prove that he has the guts and the grit to do big things. He decides that entering the Demolition Derby is the perfect way to show everyone that what he lacks in horsepower he makes up for in gumption. From multi-talented mega celebrity John Cena comes this exciting story about the importance of believing in yourself and never giving up. Full of high-octane sound effects and a new character kids will cheer for, this fun and fast-paced audiobook proves that a little Elbow Grease...can go a long way! As featured on: The Today Show Entertainment Tonight The Daily Show with Trevor Noah The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Becoming a writer the hard wayIn the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until federal agents caught up with them. For his part in the conspiracy, Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison.In Hole in My Life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth. On the surface, the narrative tumbles from one crazed moment to the next as Gantos pieces together the story of his restless final year of high school, his short-lived career as a criminal, and his time in prison. But running just beneath the action is the story of how Gantos – once he was locked up in a small, yellow-walled cell – moved from wanting to be a writer to writing, and how dedicating himself more fully to the thing he most wanted to do helped him endure and ultimately overcome the worst experience of his life. This title has Common Core connections.Hole in My Life is a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

"How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules!" The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich. But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him. Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Llama Llama, morning light. Feeling yucky, just not right. Down to breakfast. Tiny sneeze. Sniffle, snuffle. Tissues, please! Ah-choo! Uh-oh, Llama Llama's nose is feeling tickly, his throat is feeling scratchy, and his head is feeling stuffy. Back to bed, no school today for Llama Llama! Instead, he's home with Mama. By lunchtime, though, he's beginning to feel a tiny bit better. But now someone else has the sneezes...Mama! And who will help her feel better? Why, Llama Llama, of course! Anna Dewdney's fun-to-listen-to rhymes are sure to help children and their parents get through those under-the-weather days.

A boy's chance encounter with a scruffy dog leads to an unforgettable friendship in this deeply moving story about life, loss, and the meaning of family. Ben Coffin has never felt like he fits in. A former foster kid, he keeps his head down at school to avoid bullies and spends his afternoons reading sci-fi books at the library. But that all changes when he finds a scruffy abandoned dog named Flip and befriends the librarian's daughter, Halley. For the first time, Ben starts to feel like he belongs in his own life. Then everything changes, and suddenly Ben is more alone than ever. But with a little help from Halley's magician father, Ben discovers his place in the world and learns to see his own magic through others' eyes. Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming, this audiobook is a must-listen for dog lovers and fans of emotionally resonant middle grade novels like One for the Murphys and Okay for Now. "Full of pace and laughter, bruises and heart. Paul Griffin is the sort of writer you're torn between telling the whole world about and keeping all to yourself." (Markus Zusak, author of Printz Honor Winner The Book Thief) “Friendship is an absolutely beautiful, heart-expanding book. I cried, but more than that I felt this giant balloon of love for everyone. This story convinced me all over again that love and imagination are life’s biggest magic. It’ll make you want to grab hold of everyone important to you and lick them on the nose.” (Rebecca Stead, author of Newbery Award winner When You Reach Me) "Some books change the way you see the world. Some change the way you breathe. This book will leave you breathless.This is Paul Griffin's best book yet - and that's really saying something." (Patricia McCormick, author of National Book Award Finalist Sold)

An Oprah Kids’ Reading List Pick A Publishers Weekly Best New Book of the Week Pick From the Newbery Honor-winning, New York Times best-selling author - with cover by Dan Santat! If you dare, join Jack and Jill as they embark on a harrowing quest through a new set of tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and others. Follow along as they enter startling new landscapes that may (or may not) be scary, bloody, terrifying, and altogether true in this hair-raising companion to Adam Gidwitz’s widely acclaimed, award-winning debut, A Tale Dark & Grimm. For more twisted tales, look for A Tale Dark & Grimm and The Grimm Conclusion. Accolades for In a Glass Grimmly: New York Times best seller A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2012 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2012

Growing up in a remote part of Alaska, Ivan and September Crane know that autumn is an unpredictable season - days of clear blue skies can give way to fierce, sudden storms in a blink. They know the trouble signs: changes in the wind, the temperature, or even the color of the dawn. But somehow, this time, left alone when their fisherman father is delayed at sea, even their keen sense of their surroundings and the lessons they've been taught fail them. So does their common sense. Though their dad warned them not to hook up their video game to the short-wave radio batteries and ordered them to stay off moody Bag Bay in their skiff, they wind up doing both. With their radio - their only link to the outside world and the town across Bag Bay - fried and useless, they've got to sneak into town to have it repaired. Soon brother and sister are caught up in a whirlpool of complications from which they can't escape. And unbeknownst to them, heading viciously and mercilessly their way is something they fear more than anything else on Bag Bay: a williwaw, a violent and unbending storm, the kind that took their mother's life years before.

It’s an exciting day for Llama Llama; he’s going to visit Gram and Grandpa Llama and spend the night! His first night away from home...and from Mama. But he makes sure to pack everything he needs. And there are so many fun things to do with Gram and Grandpa. It’s not until he gets ready for bed that he realizes that he’s forgotten something important. Fuzzy Llama! Fortunately, Grandpa Llama has a wonderful solution, and soon Llama Llama is having sweet dreams.

Through the telling of events from his own life, Wes Moore (author of the best-selling adult title The Other Wes Moore) explores the issues that separate success and failure. He also counterpoints his story with another man, someone who shared the same name, was almost the same age, grew up fatherless in a similar Baltimore neighborhood, but is serving a life sentence for murder. Compelled to write to the other Wes, the author was surprised to receive a reply. And so began a friendship, as letters turned into visits and the two men got to know one another. This compelling story about the challenges of growing up and the responsibility for the choices we make, is sure to inspire.

Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson return in another fast-paced, action-packed sports mystery from bestselling sports writer John Feinstein.The two hopeful sports reporters have kept in touch after their wild time at the Final Four, and when Susan Carol manages to score a press pass to cover the first week of the US Open Tennis Tournament in New York, Stevie works out a way to be there as well.The behind-the-scenes action in the world of professional tennis is overwhelming and occasionally bewildering, but it turns downright inconceivable when a young Russian phenom, Natalia Makarova, disappears right before her second-round match. Somewhere between the locker rooms and the Louis Armstrong Court, one of the most-watched players of the tournament simply vanishes.The media coverage is staggering. Everyone is looking for Natalia--including Stevie and Susan Carol. Was she kidnapped? Did she run? Is she even still alive? The rumors are growing wilder by the hour. But they don't even come close to the shocking truth...

THE SUPER BOWL. America's biggest sports spectacle. More than 95 million fans will be watching, but Steve Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson know that what they'll be watching is a lie. They know that the entire offensive line of the California Dreams have failed their doping tests and that the Dreams' owner is trying to cover up the test results. These two teens are sitting on the biggest sports scandal of the decade. What they don't know -yet - is how to prove it.