When Roberta, Peter and Phyllis's father is arrested for a crime he did not commit and they have to start a new life in the country, they fear the happy times are gone forever. Little do they expect the exciting adventures and the new friends that await them. By the end they have learned more about life and themselves than they had ever dreamed possible. This full-cast, dramatized version of Edith Nesbit's children's classic delightfully brings to life the adventures of The Railway Children.
In 1905, ten-year-old Lavina Cumming hugs her father good-bye and boards a train headed north. She is leaving her father, her five brothers, and her ranch in Arizona Territory to live with her rich aunt in California. With warmth and charm, award-winning author Susan Lowell paints a unique portrait of life in historic California. I Am Lavina Cumming blends adventure, friendship, and southwestern lore into a delightful story that will win the hearts of young listeners everywhere.
When Pollyanna was published in 1913, it became an overnight success. It immediately sold over a million copies as young and old alike fell in love with the little freckled orphan girl and her spirited optimism. Many of Beldingsville's citizens are ill, misguided, and even despairing. The sparkling, ingenuous eleven-year-old who descends upon them with her 'glad game' gives them renewed hope and changes their lives forever. Then unexpected tragedy strikes, and Pollyanna can no longer find the silver lining in any cloud. Can a child's suffering possibly serve any purpose? Author Eleanor Porter wrote, " I have never believed that we ought to deny discomfort and pain and evil: I have merely thought that it is far better to greet the unknown with a cheer." With the added bonus of Barbara Caruso's skillful reading, even adult readers will be challenged to finish the book dry-eyed.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy's adventures growing up in a small town on the banks of the Mississippi river over a hundred years ago. The cheerful, adventurous hero plays truant to form a pirate band and, together with his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, finds fun and excitement, and buried treasure, along the shores of the great river.
The tales of the Norse gods, of the giants, demons, trolls and dwarves, still have the power to fascinate more than a thousand years after they were first told. Here are the stories of the one-eyed god Odin, the all-seeing, who from his throne in Asgard the home of the gods, has to prepare for Ragnarok, the final conflict between good and evil. There are tales too of Tyr the god of war, of the cunning Loki, of Thor the mighty thunder god and a host of others. These retellings of the old tales are given extra dramatic perspective by the music of Mahler, Grieg, Smetana. They come to life as never before.
Kipling's tales of Mowgli and his exciting life in the Indian jungle have been loved by children and adults alike ever since their publication in 1895. Mowgli the 'man-cub' must learn to fend for himself against terrible foes like Shere Khan the tiger, but he can always call upon his friends Baloo the Bear, Bagheera the Black Panther and Kaa the Rock Python from whom he learns the Law of the Jungle.
The world of Hans Christian Andersen is seen through the eyes of children. There is the everyday wonder of an ugly duckling being transformed into a swan; the puffed-up Emperor being fooled by his own importance; the tender tragedy of a little match girl; the upright honesty of John rewarded by his traveling companion. By bringing true feelings to these stories, Andersen's tales have become part of universal folklore.
Here are some of the most enchanting fairy stories of all time. The brothers Grimm conjure up a world of fantasy, hope and good fortune where the princess meets and marries the right prince (even if he was once a frog), and where the cruel witch, the arrogant wife and the greedy wolf get their come-uppance. It is a magical world which we must all inhabit at one time in our lives and which are as important in this computer age as ever before.
Eleven-year-old Rosey Sachs is worried about her school writing assignment. How can she write anything interesting about her ordinary life in Brooklyn? "I was born in 1896 and my hair is brown," she writes. "As these two things are also true for just about everyone in the class, they are not very interesting." A poem might have made her neighborhood sound a little more exciting, but to Rosey's dismay, she quickly discovers that Brooklyn doesn't rhyme with anything. But the plucky young girl keeps plugging away. Soon she realizes that the most wonderful things about Brooklyn have been right around her all along. In her loving aunts and uncles, the unfortunately named Itzy Carnitzky, her immigrant parents and the friends who pass through her small house, Rosey finds the best and most interesting materials for her assignment. With gently humor and poignant detail, Joan W. Blos paints a heartwarming picture of Jewish life in New York in the years before World War I. The winner of both the Newbery Award and the American Book Award, Blos is the acclaimed author of many historical fictions for young people.
A little boy planted a carrot seed. His mother says, "I'm afraid it won't come up." His father and his big brother agree. At first, it seems they're right. But the little boy knows better. So, every day, he pulls up weeds and waters the ground until - one day - just as the little boy knew it would, something very special happens. This is a story with a very special message.A Live Oak Media audio production.
Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling provides a rare study of the exotic opulence and the political conflict of British-ruled India in this classic story of the friendship between a British boy and an Indian priest. This is Kipling's only full-length novel, and it offers young adults an excellent study of the Oriental landscape, the literary style, and the recurring themes of one of this century's greatest storytellers.
Awakening from a well-earned nap beside a stout tree, an itinerant cap peddler finds that his wares have been confiscated by a band of feisty monkeys cavorting in the branches overhead. In reply to his commands to return the caps, the monkeys simply imitate – and so further anger – the peddler. Finally, by throwing down his own cap in frustration, the salesman unwittingly outwits the monkeys as they follow his example.
Children will delight in following the peddler’s efforts to outwit the monkeys and will ask to read it again and again. Caps for Sale is an excellent easy-to-read book that includes repetition, patterns, and colors, perfect for early readers.
A Live Oak Media audio production.
