Historical Audiobooks

Blackthorn Key

Following a series of murders, an apothecary's apprentice must solve puzzles and decipher codes in pursuit of a secret that could destroy the world in this suspenseful debut novel.Christopher Rowe, apprentice to Master Apothecary Benedict Blackthorn, is learning all his master's secrets-like how to decipher complex codes and puzzles, and how to transform simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions, and weapons. Christopher's beloved master guides him with a firm, steady hand-a confidence even more vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on London's apothecaries. The murders grow closer and closer to Blackthorn's shop...until Christopher is torn from his home with only a cryptic message and a warning from his master: "Tell no one what I've given you." Aided by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must race to decipher his master's message-and follow a trail of deceit toward an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.

Kevin Sands (Author), Ray Panthaki (Narrator)

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The Seventh Most Important Thing

It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge-he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service…working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it-is he really supposed to rummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the "trash" he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine.… Acclaimed author Shelley Pearsall tells a powerful story about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.

Shelley Pearsall (Author), Nick Podehl (Narrator)

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A Boy of Heart Mountain: Based on and Inspired by the Experiences of Shigeru Yabu

The remarkable true story of a boy's resilience in the face of injustice. At the onset of World War II, nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps. Shigeru Yabu, a young boy from San Francisco, was forced from his home and moved, with his family, to the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in Wyoming. A Boy of Heart Mountain is a poignant coming-of-age story about how one ten-year-old Japanese American boy named Shig tried to make sense out of being imprisoned for several years on the prairie. Forced from his home, his school, his friends, and his beloved dog, Shig and his family have to figure out how to get by in this strange and unfriendly place. He learns about many things there. He learns about loss, and about love, and about loneliness. And he learns about how important it can be to have a good companion or two alongside you in bad times and good times.

Barbara Bazaldua (Author), Ova Saopeng (Narrator)

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Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

From Steve Sheinkin, the award-winning author of The Port Chicago 50 and Bomb comes a tense, exciting exploration of what the Times deemed "the greatest story of the century": how Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into "the most dangerous man in America," and risked everything to expose the government's deceit. On June 13, 1971, the front page of the New York Times announced the existence of a 7,000-page collection of documents containing a secret history of the Vietnam War. Known as The Pentagon Papers, these documents had been comissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Chronicling every action the government had taken in the Vietnam War, they revealed a pattern of deception spanning over twenty years and four presidencies, and forever changed the relationship between American citizens and the politicans claiming to represent their interests. A provocative audiobook that interrogates the meanings of patriotism, freedom, and integrity, Most Dangerous further establishes Steve Sheinkin as a leader in children's nonfiction.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Ray Porter (Narrator)

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Last in a Long Line of Rebels

Debut novelist Lisa Lewis Tyre vibrantly brings a small town and its outspoken characters to life, as she explores race and other community issues from both the Civil War and the present day. Lou might be only twelve, but she's never been one to take things sitting down. So when her Civil War-era house is about to be condemned, she's determined to save it, either by getting it deemed a historic landmark or by finding the stash of gold rumored to be hidden nearby during the war. As Lou digs into the past, her eyes are opened when she finds that her ancestors ran the gamut of slave owners, renegades, thieves and abolitionists. Meanwhile, some incidents in her town show her that many Civil War era prejudices still survive and that the past can keep repeating itself if we let it. Digging into her past shows Lou that it's never too late to fight injustice, and she starts to see the real value of understanding and exploring her roots.

Lisa Lewis Tyre (Author), Dorothy Dillingham Blue (Narrator)

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Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation

Just after gold fever swept the West-a time when people walked, sailed, or rode horses for months on end to seek their fortune-the question of faster, safer, more reliable transportation between America's East and West Coasts was posed by lawmakers and national leaders. But with 1,800 miles of seemingly impenetrable mountains, searing deserts, and endless plains between the Missouri River and San Francisco, could a transcontinental railroad be built? There were believers and there were doubters, but it was the visionaries and the doers-Theodore Judah, Grenville Dodge, Charles Crocker, James Strobridge-who made it happen. They established two railroad companies, the Central Pacific that laid the tracks eastward and the Union Pacific that moved west, setting the stage for a race between iron men with iron wills unlike anything any country had ever seen. Heroes and scoundrels populate the story of the transcontinental railroad. But it was the tens of thousands of workers who, against all odds and working almost entirely by hand, built the great road. They labored for more than six years blasting the longest tunnels that had ever been constructed, building the highest bridges that had ever been created, battling enormous snow drifts and blistering heat. And when the nation was finally linked by two bands of steel, America was changed forever.

Martin W. Sandler (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

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Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My...

FRANKLIN ISAAC SATURDAY HAS PROBLEMS. His name is Franklin, for one thing. His father's been relocated across the country, for another; and his mother's remarried to Dirk the Jerk. Middle school is proving to be one big weird popularity contest, and Ike doesn't know the rules-but it seems like everyone else sure does. The only bright spot in Ike's life is his beautiful and brilliant lab partner, Claire Wanzandae, his cherry blossom-scented longtime crush. But an extra-credit assignment changes everything. The assignment is simple: write a letter to a Famous Historical Person. Ike picks Benjamin Franklin, the dude he's named after. He even steals an old-timey stamp from Dirk the Jerk's collection for "bonus authenticity." Done. An easy-peasy five points added to his history grade. Then, to make Claire laugh, Ike mails the letter…and Ben Franklin writes back! Thus begins a most unlikely friendship. Ben's having problems with the other Founding Fathers similar to those Ike's having at school-maybe they can help each other. Or maybe Ben's wisdom will screw up Ike's life even more, and maybe Ike's advice will destroy the United States before the Declaration of Independence even gets signed. Forget being grounded and getting in with the in crowd-Ike has bigger problems now, like accidentally changing the course of history.

Adam Mansbach, Alan Zweibel (Author), Lauren Ezzo, Nick Podehl, Tom Parks (Narrator)

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Water Never Hurt a Man

This short story pulled from Seven American Stories, and originally published in Harper’s in 1930, is a classic of historical fiction.

Walter D. Edmonds (Author), Mark Turetsky (Narrator)

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Uncle Ben’s Whale

In this classic short story, Newbery Medal–winning author Walter D. Edmonds tells the story of Uncle Ben, who, free of his domineering wife for a spell, finds a whale in the bay while out with his friend Henry. When they bring it back with them, they discover they can earn a little cash by turning it into a side show attraction.

Walter D. Edmonds (Author), Mark Turetsky (Narrator)

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Cadmus Henry

Cadmus Henry, mounted on one of the finest mares in Virginia and perfectly turned out from head to toe, dreams of charging intrepidly into battle under the orders of General Lee himself. Unfortunately, young Cadmus can write and is therefore assigned to a desk. But when an unexpected chance to volunteer for scout duty presents itself, Cadmus jumps at it. He learns too late that that, rather than riding into battle and proving himself a hero, he will be floating over enemy lines in a balloon. Despite his reservations, Cadmus sets out on what proves to be a fine adventure. With plenty of excitement and tender moments, Newbery Medal winner Walter D. Edmonds’ Cadmus Henry is a well-crafted tale for readers young and old. “Written with verve and insight, characterized by superior craftsmanship and sound historical knowledge, this story ranks among the best of the author’s works.”—New York Times

Walter D. Edmonds (Author), Mark Turetsky (Narrator)

Audiobook

In the Heart of the Sea: Young Reader’s Edition: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex—the inspiration for the climax of Moby-Dick. In a harrowing page-turner, Nathaniel Philbrick restores this epic story to its rightful place in American history. In 1819 the 240-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was repeatedly rammed and sunk by an eighty-ton bull sperm whale. Its twenty-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats. During ninety days at sea under horrendous conditions, the survivors clung to life as one by one, they succumbed to hunger, thirst, disease, and fear. In the Heart of the Sea tells perhaps the greatest sea story ever. Philbrick interweaves his account of this extraordinary ordeal of ordinary men with a wealth of whale lore and with a brilliantly detailed portrait of the lost, unique community of Nantucket whalers. Impeccably researched and beautifully told, the book delivers the ultimate portrait of man against nature. At once a literary companion and a page-turner that speaks to the same issues of class, race, and man’s relationship to nature that permeate the works of Melville, In the Heart of the Sea will endure as a vital work of American history. “A book that gets in your bones…Philbrick has created an eerie thriller from a centuries old tale…Scrupulously researched and eloquently written…It would have earned Melville’s admiration.”—New York Times Book Review

Nathaniel Philbrick (Author), Taylor Mali (Narrator)

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The Hired Girl

Ever since the untimely death of her mother, 14 year-old Joan Skraggs has been desperately unhappy. Under the thumb of her cruel father and three sullen brothers, Joan lives like a servant on their farm just outside of Lancaster, forever cooking, cleaning, and attending to the many demands of the home. But she has little freedom, and less support from her family for her love of reading and blossoming interest in education. But when her father tells Joan she can't go to school anymore, it sets off a journey that will see her become first a runaway, then a hired girl on $6 a week, and finally her very own young woman. Set in America during the optimistic years before the First World War, and told through a series of journal entries, THE HIRED GIRL is the story of a young girl in search of Real Life and True Love. It takes in feminism and housework; money, religion, and social class; literature and education, romanticism and realism, first love and sexual yearnings, cats, hats, and bunions. And it's a comedy.

Laura Amy Schlitz (Author), Rachel Botchan (Narrator)

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