Health & Family Audiobooks

The Legend of the Christmas Witch

From Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza and creative partner Dan Murphy comes the long lost tale of the Christmas Witch, Santa Claus's much misunderstood twin sister. The perfect gift for the holiday season and beyond! Gather 'round the fire to hear a Christmas legend that has never been told before...until now. Each year a mysterious figure sweeps into town, leaving behind strange gifts in the night. No, not Santa Claus, but his sister… The Christmas Witch. Her story begins many, many years ago when her brother was torn away from her as a child. Raised alone by a witch of the woods, Kristtōrn's powers of magic grew, as did her temper. Determined to find her long lost twin, she set out on a perilous journey across oceans to find him. But what she found instead was a deep-seated fear of her powers and a confrontation that would leave the fate of Christmas hanging in the balance. From award-winning producer and actress Aubrey Plaza and her creative partner Dan Murphy comes a holiday story unlike any told before. With all the richness of classic folklore, they've woven a tale of bravery, love and magic. Whatever you thought you knew about Christmas…think again.

Aubrey Plaza, Dan Murphy (Author), Aubrey Plaza (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lemonade Crime

Award-winning author Jacqueline Davies' The Lemonade War introduced fourth-grader Evan and his math-genius sister Jessie as they went head-to-head to see who could sell the most lemonade. Its charming sequel, The Lemonade Crime finds the siblings finally getting used to being in the same class after Jessie skips a grade. But a criminal trial-put on by their fourth grade class-will turn the siblings into rivals once again.

Jacqueline Davies (Author), Stina Nielsen (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lemonade Hurricane: A Story of Mindfulness and Meditation

Emma doesn't really like hurricanes. After a busy day of school and activities, Emma likes to sit still and rest. Her little brother, Henry, does everything but. She calls him The Lemonade Hurricane.Henry is a lot of fun when he's not storming through the house, so Emma decides to teach him how to be still. By showing him how to sit, bow, and breathe, Emma is able to calm the hurricane within Henry.In Planting Seeds, Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teaches that by sitting still and meditating, the mind can become clear. Like Hanh's apple juice story, when a glass of lemonade is stirred, the pulp swirls around. When it sits quietly, the pulp settles and the liquid becomes clear. In this way, a glass of lemonade is a metaphor for how meditation and mindfulness work. That is why this story is called The Lemonade Hurricane. Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps us tame the hurricane within.

Licia Morelli (Author), Leslie Howard (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Length of a String

Imani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birth parents. Anna has left behind her family to escape from Holocaust-era Europe to meet a new family--two journeys, one shared family history, and the bonds that make us who we are. Perfect for fans of The Night Diary. Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to find her birth parents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she's black and almost everyone she knows is white. Then her mom's grandmother--Imani's great-grandma Anna--passes away, and Imani discovers an old journal among her books. It's Anna's diary from 1941, the year she was twelve and fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn, New York. Anna's diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adoptive family of her own. And as Imani reads the diary, she begins to see her family, and her place in it, in a whole new way.

Elissa Brent Weissman (Author), Carlotta Brentan, Tyla Collier (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Liberation of Gabriel King

Gabriel King believes he was born chicken. He’s afraid of spiders, corpses, loose cows, and just about everything related to the fifth grade. If it’s a choice between graduating or staying in the fourth grade forever, he’s going to stay put–only his best friend, Frita Wilson, won’t hear of it. “Gabe,” says Frita, “we got to do something about you.” When Frita makes up her mind, she’s like a locomotive–there’s no stopping her. “First, you’re going to make a list. Write down everything you’re afraid of.” Gabe’s list is a lot longer than he’d like Frita to know. Plus, he can’t quite figure out how tackling his fears will make him brave. Surely jumping off the rope swing over the catfish pond can only lead to certain death . . . but maybe Frita knows what she’s doing. It turns out she’s got her own list, and while she’s watching Gabe face all his fears, she’s avoiding the fear that scares her the most. With wisdom and clarity, K. L. Going explores the nature of fear in what should be an idyllic summer for two friends from different backgrounds. For them, living in a small town in Georgia with an active Ku Klux Klan, the summer of 1976 is a momentous one. It’s the summer they discover what courage is all about. From the Compact Disc edition.

K. L. Going, K.L. Going (Author), Robert Keefe (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Life Of Poor Children: Child Labour

This book tells us about the life of poor children, their thinking and the difficulties faced by them. It also sheds light on a global issue, child labour.

Saurabh Kumar (Author), Saurabh Kumar (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lifters

Journey to an underground world where adventure awaits and heroes are made in this middle grade novel from the bestselling, Pulitzer-nominated author of The Monk of Mokha and Her Right Foot. When Gran and his family move to Carousel, he has no idea that the town is built atop a secret. Little does he suspect, as he walks his sister to school or casually eats a banana, that mysterious forces lurk mere inches beneath his feet, tearing up the earth like mini-hurricanes and causing the town to slowly but surely sink. When Gran's friend, the difficult-to-impress Catalina Catalan, presses a silver handle into a hillside and opens a doorway to underground, he knows that she is extraordinary and brave, and that he will have no choice but to follow wherever she leads. With luck on their side, and some discarded hockey sticks for good measure, Gran and Catalina might just find a way to lift their town--and the known world--out of danger. In The Lifters, critically acclaimed author Dave Eggers establishes himself as a storyteller who can entertain and inspire readers of any age

Dave Eggers (Author), Dion Graham (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Light in the Lake

A remarkable debut novel that takes readers on a journey of discovery, magic, science, and hope. Twelve-year-old Addie should stay away from Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother, Amos, drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in Addie's veins, and the notebook Amos left behind -- filled with clues about a mysterious creature that lives in the lake's inky-blue depths -- keeps calling her back. So despite her parents' fears, Addie accepts a Young Scientist position studying the lake for the summer, promising she'll stick to her job of measuring water pollution levels under adult supervision. Still, Addie can't resist the secrets of Maple Lake. She enlists the lead researcher's son, Tai, to help her investigate Amos's clues. As they collect evidence, they also learn that Maple Lake is in trouble -- and the source of the pollution might be close to home. Addie finds herself caught between the science she has always prized and the magic that brings her closer to her brother, and the choice she makes will change everything.

Sarah R. Baughman (Author), Caitlin Kelly (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lightkeeper's Daughter

Three years after leaving her family behind on the idyllic lighthouse island where she grew up, 17-year-old Elizabeth "Squid" McCrae returns, full of anger and accusations and eager to confront her father about a family tragedy. But as a ghostly voice from the past sparks her memories, Squid soon realizes that nothing is exactly as she thought it was, and no one-not even herself-is completely free from blame. The award-winning author of The Wreckers presents a keen exploration of the way family works to make us who we are.

Iain Lawrence (Author), Ed Sala (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lightning Queen

A stunningly rendered mystical novel, set in the remote mountains of Mexico in the 1950s, illuminates the power of an unlikely friendship that blends cultures, magic, and possibilities. Nothing exciting happens on the Hill of Dust, in the remote mountains of Mexico in the 1950s. There's no electricity, no plumbing, no cars, just day after day of pasturing goats. And now, without his sister and mother, eleven-year-old Teo's life feels even more barren. And then one day, the mysterious young Esma, who calls herself the Gypsy Queen of Lightning, rolls into town like a fresh burst of color. Against all odds, her caravan's Mistress of Destiny predicts that Teo and Esma will be longtime friends. Suddenly, life brims with possibility. With the help of a rescued duck, a three-legged skunk, a blind goat, and other unexpected allies, Teo and Esma must overcome obstacles--even death--to fulfill their impossible destiny. Inspired by true stories derived from rural Mexico, The Lightning Queen offers a glimpse of the encounter between two fascinating but marginalized cultures--the Rom and the Mixtec Indians--while telling the heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship.

Laura Resau (Author), Christian Barillas, Thom Rivera (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lily Pond

A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Childrens Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden. A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again - under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer. Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself - she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected. From the Hardcover edition.

Annika Thor (Author), Amy Rubinate (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Linden Tree

When eleven-year-old Katy Sue loses her mother, Edna, to meningitis, she and her family must adjust to life without her. The rural farm in the 1940s provides a natural backdrop that is rhythmic and routine but unforgiving, even when a family member dies. The house's haunted emptiness is filled only when Aunt Katherine, Edna's youngest sister, comes to the family's aid, as does Jake, an ornithologist and family friend. Katy Sue, the youngest of the three children, struggles to define her place in the family and understand what the loss of her mother means for her now. With the guidance of her teacher, Mrs. Breton, Katy Sue begins to contemplate the shape of her family and the farm through drawing, a process that allows her to accept her father's soon-to-be wife, farm life without her mother, and, eventually, her own role within the family. "Gavin's interpretation of a wide range of emotions is respectful and clear. Her voice becomes gently gruff for Katy Sue's strong and loving father and takes on a higher, slightly shaky timbre for her anxious older sister. Gavin brings a casual, homey feel to the novel, dropping the final g (as in cookin'), while maintaining a reflective tone. This story sensitively captures the sorrow, loneliness, and small moments of joy that Katy Sue feels, with Gavin's reading eliciting deep compassion for the young protagonist."-Booklist

Ellie Mathews (Author), Marguerite Gavin (Narrator)

Audiobook