Health & Family Audiobooks

Stepping Stones

This contemporary middle-grade graphic novel, adapted for audio with a full cast production, about family and belonging from New York Times bestselling author Lucy Knisley is a perfect listen for fans of Awkward and Be Prepared. Jen is used to not getting what she wants. So suddenly moving the country and getting new stepsisters shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Jen did not want to leave the city. She did not want to move to a farm with her mom and her mom's new boyfriend, Walter. She did not want to leave her friends and her dad. Most of all, Jen did not want to get new 'sisters,' Andy and Reese. As if learning new chores on Peapod Farm wasn't hard enough, having to deal with perfect-at-everything Andy might be the last straw for Jen. Besides cleaning the chicken coop, trying to keep up with the customers at the local farmers' market, and missing her old life, Jen has to deal with her own insecurities about this new family . . . and where she fits in. New York Times bestselling author Lucy Knisley brings to life a story inspired from her own childhood in an amazing journey of unlikely friends, sisters, and home. AUDIO CAST LIST: * Lauren Fortgang as Jen * Sarah Mollo-Christensen as Mom * Patricia Santomasso as Andy with Kristen DiMercurio as Reese, Bailey Carr as Victoria, James Fouhey as Eddie, Neil Hellegers as Steve Morgan, Sean Patrick Hopkins as Walter, Joshua Kane as the Post Office Clerk, Amy Landon as Bonnie, and Barrett Leddy as Mr. Archer 'Funny, sweet, and real.' -Jennifer & Matthew Holm, co-creators of the bestselling Babymouse series 'This book is gorgeous. Highly recommended.' -Kristen Gudsnuk, creator of Making Friends

Lucy Knisley (Author), Amy Landon, Bailey Carr, Barrett Leddy, James Fouhey, Joshua Kane, Kristen Dimercurio, Lauren Fortgang, Neil Hellegers, Patricia Santomasso, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Sean Patrick Hopkins (Narrator)

Audiobook

Iggy Is Better Than Ever

The second book in the Iggy series about the lovable troublemaker by New York Times bestselling author Annie Barrows (Ivy + Bean). One thing led to another . . . Have you ever heard those words? Sometimes it means 'Things got better.' That's not what it means in this book. In this book, Iggy gets an idea--a perfectly fine idea--and then, unfortunately, the principal shows up, and then, even more unfortunately, there's an incident with a basketball, and then, before you know it, Iggy's flying through the air. How did it all happen? It's really hard to explain. You'd better read the book. In the second book in Annie Barrows's series about how causing a little bit of trouble can sometimes be a whole lot of fun, Iggy almost realizes that the consequences of his actions can affect others. Almost.

Annie Barrows (Author), Kate Reinders (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Barren Grounds: The Misewa Saga, Book 1

Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson. Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them.

David A. Robertson (Author), Brefny Caribou, Brefny Caribou-Curtin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Future Friend

From million-copy bestselling author David Baddiel comes a laugh-out-loud and inspiring new adventure for all readers of 8 and up that is ahead of its time – 1,001 years ahead, to be precise… The year is 3020. Pip@256X#YY.3_7 is lonely and bored: she goes to virtual school on her G-Glasses, she only has a talking cat and parrot to hang out with, and she can’t even leave her LivingSpace due to the extreme heat and floods outside. Until the day that Pip explores a glowing ring in a lab and finds herself in a warehouse, in 2019. Where she meets boy-inventor Rahul – who is also lonely and bored. Together, Rahul and Pip are no longer lonely. But they have a whole load of new problems, including hiding talking animals from Rahul’s parents, and finding a way back to the future. Plus – just maybe – saving the world… Future Friend is a terrifically entertaining time-slip adventure that combines action, laugh-out-loud humour and the importance of friendship, in a story that asks the question – what would happen if your best friend came from the future?

David Baddiel (Author), Aysah Kala, Morwenna Banks, Nneka Okoye, Paul Panting, Penelope Rawlins, Sartaj Garewal, Sid Sagar (Narrator)

Audiobook

What We’ll Build: Plans for Our Together Future

A spectacular new title from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers, creator of the global phenomenon Here We Are! What shall we build, you and I? I’ll build your future and you’ll build mine. We’ll build a watch to keep our time. A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work; building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe and love to keep them warm. From renowned, internationally bestselling picture-book creator and visual artist, Oliver Jeffers, comes this rare and enduring story about a parent’s boundless love, life’s endless opportunities and all we need to build a together future.

Oliver Jeffers (Author), Oliver Jeffers (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Pocket for Corduroy

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Corduroy, Don Freeman's story of a beloved teddy bear and his friend Lisa, which has sold millions of copies and delighted children all over the world. In this sequel to Corduroy, Lisa takes her toy bear to a Laundromat, where he goes on a soapy adventure!

Don Freeman (Author), Bahni Turpin (Narrator)

Audiobook

When I Pray for You

USA TODAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER From the author of the best-selling When God Made You comes a new illuminating message about God's design affirming young listeners. With lyricism, whimsy, and heartfelt emotion, Matthew Paul Turner reveals the tender emotions connected with watching a beloved child grow up and experience the world. When I Pray for You is a beautifully affirming audiobook, in which children and parents will see their own stories come to life. When I Pray for You celebrates the dreams, hopes, and longings parents pray over their children, and shares with the little ones how much care and concern a loved one feels for them. This is an audiobook you will listen to with your child again and again. Perfect for any occasion, as well as for milestones including baby showers, birthdays, and graduations. From the moment I saw you, I started to pray. Big prayers and small ones I have sent God's way. I prayed you felt safe, full of joy and content. When I whispered 'I love you,' you knew what I meant.

Matthew Paul Turner (Author), Adenrele Ojo (Narrator)

Audiobook

When God Made You

YOU, you… God thinks about you. God was thinking of you long before your debut. From early on, children are looking to discover their place in the world and longing to understand how their personalities, traits, and talents fit in. The assurance that they are deeply loved and a unique creation in our big universe is certain to help them spread their wings and fly.    Through playful, charming rhyme, When God Made You inspires young listeners to learn about their own special gifts and how they fit into God's divine plan as they grow, explore, and begin to create for themselves.    'Cause when God made YOU, somehow God knew That the world needed someone exactly like you!

Matthew Paul Turner (Author), Adenrele Ojo (Narrator)

Audiobook

Whose Right Is It?: The Second Amendment and the Fight Over Guns

Discover the truth about the Second Amendment, the NRA, and the United States' centuries-long fight over guns in this first-of-its-kind book for middle grade listeners. For the majority of the United States' history, the right to own a gun belonged to a 'well regulated militia.' That changed in 2008 with the historic District of Columbia v. Heller case, which ruled that the Second Amendment protected an individual's right. In the years since, the debate over gun legislation has reached a crescendo. And the issue grows ever relevant to children across America, with an estimated three million exposed to shootings every year. From metal detectors to see-through backpacks to shooting drills, kids face daily reminders of the threat of guns. Hana Bajramovic's Whose Right Is It?: The Second Amendment and the Fight Over Guns reveals how a once obscure amendment became the focus of daily heated debate. The book will show young listeners how gun legislation has always been a part of American history and how money, power, and race have long dictated our ability to own guns.

Hana Bajramovic (Author), Suzie Althens (Narrator)

Audiobook

Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown

The dark truth behind the Johnstown Flood of 1889 -- one of the greatest calamities our country has ever experienced--is revealed in a beautiful, harrowing story, told in luminous verse. Before the flood, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a working class industry town filled with immigrants, factory workers, shop owners, housewives, and schoolchildren, all with hopes and dreams for the future. Sixteen-year-old Joe Dixon opens a newsstand and aspires to make a name for himself like Andrew Carnegie; Monica Fagan longs to travel to her mother's native Ireland, while her younger brother Daniel just wants to hike the mountain and enjoy clean air; George Hoffman yearns for a job so he can relieve his family's burdens; William James works hard to be a poet; and little Gertrude Quinn is happy to collect treasures from her father's store. Above the soot-filled town, an elite hunting and fishing club built on a manmade lake draws America's wealthiest business barons -- Carnegie, Mellon, and Frick. Though repeatedly warned, they ignore the pleas to fix the deteriorating dam that holds the lake. And when heavy rains come, the dam bursts, and Johnstown is decimated. As great as the tragedy was the injustice: The club members eschewed any blame and claimed the flood was a natural disaster. Told in alternating voices -- some inspired by first-person accounts -- the chorus of these six children turns an unspeakable catastrophe into a transcendent and hopeful work of art in the tradition of such classics as Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology and Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

Ann E. Burg (Author), Bailey Carr, Christopher Gebauer, Dan Bittner, Josh Hurley, Robin Miles, Sean Welsh Brown, Taylor Meskimen, Taylor Meskimen (additional Tbd) (Narrator)

Audiobook

Out of Hiding:A Holocaust Survivor's Journey to America

Ruth Gruener was a hidden child during the Holocaust. At the end of the war, she and her parents were overjoyed to be free. But their struggles as displaced people had just begun. In war-ravaged Europe, they waited for paperwork for a chance to come to America. Once they arrived in Brooklyn, they began to build a new life, but spoke little English. Ruth started at a new school and tried to make friends -- but continued to fight nightmares and flashbacks of her time during World War II. The family's perseverance is a classic story of the American dream, but also illustrates the difficulties that millions of immigrants face in the aftermath of trauma. This is a gripping and human account of a survivor's journey forward with timely connections to refugee and immigrant experiences worldwide today.With a foreword by Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee.

Ruth Gruener (Author), Natasha Soudek (Narrator)

Audiobook

Project Class President

In the third book in Alyssa Milano's funny and relatable middle-grade series, Hope is running for sixth grade class president, with her friend and campaign manager, Grace, by her side. But in her effort to win over her classmates, Hope makes some promises she can't keep. Can Hope make things right with the students of JFK Middle -- and maybe still win the election, too? Hope's relatability, kindness, empathy, and can-do attitude will inspire a generation of do-gooders. This series is a response to the very palpable feeling that not only can young people save the world -- they will! This story will tie in perfectly to the 2020 presidential election and include Hope's tips about voting and elections in the back of the book!

Alyssa Milano, Alyssa Milano With Debbie Rigaud, Debbie Rigaud (Author), Lexi Underwood (Narrator)

Audiobook