Historical Audiobooks

Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young listeners the causes and curses that divided America into Union and Confederate nations in Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War. A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A Beacon of Freedom Award Winner Get the feeling something big is about to happen? Welcome to the Civil War―one of the scariest, saddest, and occasionally wackiest stories in American History. 1856: Northern and Southern settlers attack each other in Kansas. 1858: Congressmen start sneaking guns and knives into the Senate chamber. 1860: President James Buchanan is heard wailing, "I am the last president of the United States!" Unraveling a very complicated string of events--the small things, the personal ones, the big issues--Steve Sheinkin takes readers behind the scenes that led to The Civil War. It is a time and a war that threatened America's very existence, revealed in the surprising true stories of the soldiers and statesmen who battled it out. "Chatty and accessible, this book does double duty: it introduces Civil War history for readers who don't know much about it and supplies browsable commentary for those familiar with the big picture...Beginning with a look at the role cotton played in the history, his fast-paced narrative is broken into short, tersely titled vignettes...The horrors of slavery and battlefield slaughter are clear, as are achievements of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and many more." ―Booklist

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About America's Westward Ex

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin welcomes young listeners to the thrilling, tragic, and downright wild historic adventure of America's westward expansion in Which Way to the Wild West? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About America's Westward Expansion. 1805: Explorer William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean and pens the badly spelled line "Ocian in view! O! the joy!" (Hey, he was an explorer, not a spelling bee champion!) 1836: Mexican general Santa Anna surrounds the Alamo, trapping 180 Texans inside and prompting Texan William Travis to declare, "I shall never surrender or retreat." 1861: Two railroad companies, one starting in the West and one in the East, start a race to lay the most track and create a transcontinental railroad. With a storyteller's voice and attention to the details that make history real and interesting, Steve Sheinkin delivers the wild facts about America's greatest adventure. From the Louisiana Purchase (remember: if you're negotiating a treaty for your country, play it cool.) to the gold rush (there were only three ways to get to California--all of them bad) to the life of the cowboy, the Indian wars, and the everyday happenings that defined living on the frontier. "An engaging...medley of anecdotes about the Wild West in nine lively chapters starting with the Louisiana Purchase and ending with the Lakota massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Casual vignettes of famous figures and ordinary people come to life." ―School Library Journal "Sheinkin builds his conversational narrative around stories of the men and women who peopled the west, with particular attention given to African Americans, Chinese workers, and everyday farmers and cowboys. There's plenty of humor here, but Sheinkin's strength is his ability to transition between events."―The Horn Book

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American R

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young listeners an American history lesson they'll never forget in the fun and funny King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution. A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing What do the most famous traitor in history, hundreds of naked soldiers, and a salmon lunch have in common? They're all part of the amazing story of the American Revolution. Entire books have been written about the causes of the American Revolution. This isn't one of them. What it is, instead, is utterly interesting, ancedotes (John Hancock fixates on salmon), from the inside out (at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, hundreds of soldiers plunged into battle 'naked as they were born') close-up narratives filled with little-known details, lots of quotes that capture the spirit and voices of the principals ('If need be, I will raise one thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston' --George Washington), and action. It's the story of the birth of our nation, complete with soldiers, spies, salmon sandwiches, and real facts you can't help but want to tell to everyone you know. "For middle-graders who find Joy Hakim's 11-volume A History of US just too daunting, historian Sheinkin offers a more digestible version of our country's story...The author expertly combines individual stories with sweeping looks at the larger picture―tucking in extracts from letters, memorable anecdotes, pithy characterizations and famous lines with a liberal hand."―Kirkus Reviews

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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Moonchild: City of the Sun

The second book in a magical middle grade adventure series, inspired by The Arabian Nights and perfect for readers of Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Michelle Harrison and Sophie McKenzie. The Sahar Peninsula lies just beyond the horizon, but it isn't the easiest place to get to. No maps will take you there, nor can it be charted by gazing up at the stars, or down at a compass… Farah and her lizard jinn, Layla, are travelling through a vast desert – returning to their village home after their adventures with Amira and Leo in Moonchild: Voyage of the Lost and Found. Farah is desperate to see her sister again, but then she discovers a hidden city – full of people who have concealed their magic for many years. At first Farah thinks she has found new friends, but everything is not what it seems and dark magic lies just beneath the surface … 'Bushby's debut is poignant and atmospheric' Guardian 'A gorgeous story of friendship and growing up' Cathy Cassidy 'Moving and heartfelt', Anna James, author of Pages and Co

Aisha Bushby (Author), To Be Confirmed (Narrator)

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Child of the Civil Rights Movement

In this Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Civil Rights activist Andrew Young, brings a child's unique perspective to an important chapter in America's history. Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not. With an activist father and a community of leaders surrounding her, including Uncle Martin (Martin Luther King), Paula watched and listened to the struggles, eventually joining with her family-and thousands of others-in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery. Poignant, moving, and hopeful, this is an intimate look at the birth of the Civil Rights Movement.

Paula Young Shelton (Author), Paula Young Shelton (Narrator)

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Being Clem

Clem can make anybody, even his grumpy older sisters, smile with his jokes. But when his family receives news that his father has died in the infamous Port Chicago disaster, everything begins to fall apart. Clem's mother is forced to work long, tough hours as a maid for a wealthy white family. Soon Clem can barely recognize his home-and himself. Can he live up to his father's legacy? In her award-winning trilogy, Lesa Cline-Ransome masterfully recreates mid-twentieth century America through the eyes of three boys: Langston, Lymon, and, now, Clem. Exploring the impact of the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, Jim Crow laws, and much more, Lesa's work manages at once to be both an intimate portrait of each boy and his family as well as a landscape of American history.

Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), Dion Graham (Narrator)

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Rose Greenhow: Confederate Spy

No one expected Rose Greenhow to be a war hero. But when the American Civil War split the nation apart, this beautiful and popular hostess played an important role in the Confederate South’s most important battle victory. HIDDEN HISTORY books share the important roles these men and women played in our nation's history as spies -- hidden in plain sight.

Joanne Mattern (Author), Shilynne Cole (Narrator)

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Moe Berg: Spy Catcher

Some people call him the smartest baseball player of all time. Moe Berg could speak twelve languages—and make up signs on the baseball diamond. How did this major league catcher go on to become an American spy in World War II? HIDDEN HISTORY books share the important roles these men and women played in our nation's history as spies -- hidden in plain sight.

Jeri Cipriano (Author), Brian Conover (Narrator)

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Nathan Hale: America's First Spy

The American colonies had just declared independence from the British. But General George Washington knew things were not going the Americans’ way. When Gen. Washington needed someone to spy on the British, only one young man volunteered. That man was Nathan Hale, an early American hero. HIDDEN HISTORY books share the important roles these men and women played in our nation's history as spies -- hidden in plain sight.

Aaron Derr (Author), Brian Conover (Narrator)

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Benedict Arnold: Hero or Enemy Spy?

He was popular with his troops. And he was such a good soldier that Benedict Arnold became a major general in the Colonial Army. So how did a Revolutionary hero become known as one of the earliest spies in U.S. history? HIDDEN HISTORY books share the important roles these men and women played in our nation's history as spies -- hidden in plain sight.

Aaron Derr (Author), Brian Conover (Narrator)

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Harriet Tubman: Union Spy

The story of Harriet Tubman and her role in leading slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad is well-known. But did you know that during the Civil War Harriet would often dress in disguise to gain important information to share with the Union Army? HIDDEN HISTORY books share the important roles these men and women played in our nation's history as spies -- hidden in plain sight.

Jeri Cipriano (Author), Pippa Vos (Narrator)

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Attacked at Sea: A True World War II Story of a Family's Fight for Survival

Attacked at Sea is a riveting account of survival at sea, book four in the True Rescue series from Michael J. Tougias, the author of the bestseller The Finest Hours. On May 19, 1942, during World War II, a German submarine, a U-boat, in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles from New Orleans. The submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia. Most onboard were merchant seamen, but there were also civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina and their two children. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued-and each family member had to find their own path to survival.This inspiring historical narrative tells the story of the Downs family as they struggle against sharks, hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration in their effort to survive the aftermath of this deadly attack off the American coast.

Alison O'leary, Michael J. Tougias (Author), Alex Boyles (Narrator)

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