Historical Audiobooks

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776

Bestselling author Lauren Tarshis tackles the American Revolution in this latest installment of the groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling I Survived series. The battlefield was soaked in blood. Screams of injured soldiers rang through the air. Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Knox knelt behind a rock, his gun clutched in his shaking hands. Nate had been heading to New York City to find his father. But now he was trapped in a terrible gunfight between American and British troops. This Revolutionary War had started as a thrilling fight for freedom. The thirteen American colonies were breaking apart from England, away from King George III. The colonies would band together to become a brand-new country: The United States of America! But King George was like a snake with America gripped in his fangs -- and he didn't want to let go. So now it was war -- brutal, bloody war. And America was being crushed by the mighty British army. Thousands of American troops were either dead or dying in filthy British prison ships. General George Washington's army was in tatters. All Nate wanted was to find his father . . . and to get out of here alive.

Lauren Tarshis (Author), Holter Graham (Narrator)

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Woods Runner

Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents: all the way to the British headquarters, New York City. From the Hardcover edition.

Gary Paulsen (Author), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

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Towers Falling

From award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks. When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers? Award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes tells a powerful story about young people who weren't alive to witness this defining moment in history, but begin to realize how much it colors their every day.

Jewell Parker Rhodes (Author), Jewell Parker Rhodes (Narrator)

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My Brother Sam is Dead

The classic story of one family torn apart by the Revolutionary War. All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam is smart and brave, and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British, including Tim and Sam’s father. With the war soon raging, Tim knows he will have to make a choice between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats, and between his brother and his father. “This stirring and authoritative novel earns a place beside our best historical fiction…A memorable piece of writing.”—Horn Book

Christopher Collier, James Lincoln Collier (Author), John Brown, John C. Brown (Narrator)

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I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011

During the heart-stopping events of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, one boy struggles to make it out alive. The I Survived series continues with a terrifying recent international disaster. Eleven-year-old Japanese-American Owen has been in Japan for his sixth-grade year. By March he finally feels like he's getting the hang of the new culture, making friends at school and feeling at home with the "weird" food. But early one morning, everything changes--and Owen suddenly finds himself just trying to survive one of history's most devastating disasters.

Lauren Tarshis (Author), Janet Song (Narrator)

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I Survived #09: I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944

In one of the darkest periods in history, one boy struggles to survive... In this gripping new addition to the bestselling I Survived series, a young Jewish boy joins the resistance "partisan" fighters outside the Warsaw ghetto. Does he have what it takes to survive the Nazis--and fight back?

Lauren Tarshis (Author), Johnathan McClain (Narrator)

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Al Capone Does My Shirts

1935 I want to be on Alcatraz like I want poison oak on my private parts. But apparently nobody cares, because now I’m Moose Flanagan, Alcatraz Island Boy–all so my sister can go to the Esther P. Marinoff School, where kids wear their clothes inside out and there isn’t a book in sight. Obedient Moose. I always do what I’m supposed to do. When Moose’s family moves to Alcatraz Island so his father can work as a guard and his sister can attend a special school in San Francisco, he has to leave his friends behind. But it’s worth it, right? If his sister, Natalie, can get help, maybe his family will finally be normal. But on Alcatraz his dad is so busy, he’s never around. His mom’s preoccupation with Natalie’s condition (today, it would be called autism) is even worse now that there’s no extended family to help. And of course, there’s never enough money. When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the warden, he knows right off she’s trouble. But she’s also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents’ expectations and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.

Gennifer Choldenko (Author), Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)

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Moon Over Manifest

2011 NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign Id seen only in Gideons stories: Manifest - A Town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that its just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to "Leave Well Enough Alone." Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifests history is full of colorful and shadowy characters - and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifests secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town. Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpools debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.

Clare Vanderpool (Author), Cassandra Campbell, Jenna Lamia, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)

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The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List. This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler’s List child, perfectly captures the innocence of a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancor, the lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in Mr. Leyson’s telling. The Boy on the Wooden Box is a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

Leon Leyson, Marilyn J. Harran (Author), Danny Burstein (Narrator)

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Elijah of Buxton

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He's best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah's friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled-a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

Christopher Paul Curtis (Author), Mirron Willis (Narrator)

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Calico Captive

Early one morning in 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by shrill war whoops and the terror of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day which had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War. She endures a harrowing march north to what she imagines may be a life of slavery. But when they reach Montreal, a sudden twist of fortune brings Miriam to the acquaintance of the prominent Du Quesne family. The Du Quesnes introduce her to a life of luxury that she never could have imagined, and compel her to the most important decision of her life. Based on the actual narrative diary published in 1907, Calico Captive skillfully re-enacts an absorbing facet of history. "The constant shifts of locale and situation present narrator Hébert with an excellent showcase for her range of talents....But the very best part is the realistic, almost insider's, view of early American war, class structure, and prejudice."-AudioFile

Elizabeth Speares (Author), C. M Hébert (Narrator)

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Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner

America's #1 radio talk-show host and multi-million-copy #1 New York Times bestselling author presents an audiobook for young readers with a history teacher who travels back in time to have adventures with exceptional Americans.IT'S THE DAWN OF AN IMPORTANT NEW DAY IN AMERICA. YOUNG LISTENERS, GRAB THE REINS AND JOIN RUSH REVERE, LIBERTY THE HORSE, AND THE WHOLE TIME-TRAVELING CREW IN THIS PATRIOTIC HISTORICAL ADVENTURE THAT TAKES YOU ON AN EXCITING TRIP TO THE PAST TO SEE OUR REMARKABLE NATION'S MOST ICONIC SYMBOLS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL! "Rush Revere here, along with my chatty horse, Liberty! Wait a minute . . . Liberty? Where did he go?" "Reporting for duty, Captain Revere!" "Liberty, where did you get that spinach smoothie?" *Slurp* Well, he certainly didn't get it from 1787-that's where we're rush, rush, rushing off to next with our enthusiastic young friends in the Time-Traveling Crew (but not before causing a major security incident at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.!) A funny case of mistaken identity and a wild chase through the busy streets of Philadelphia will lead us to the famously introverted Father of our Constitution, James Madison, and the heated secret debates over the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Fast-forward a few years, and we'll help his brave wife, Dolley, risk her life to save an important portrait from the White House as the British set Washington afire! What greater symbol of our exceptional nation's hard-won freedoms than the Star-Spangled Banner, sewn by American icon Betsy Ross? Perhaps Francis Scott Key can explain what inspired him to pay tribute to our glorious flag by writing our beautiful national anthem. But watch out for the bombs bursting in air, because when we reach 1814, we'll be front and center at a major battle to defend our liberty. Jump back in the saddle with me, Rush Revere, and the Time-Traveling Crew, as my trusty horse, Liberty, takes us on another flying leap through American history into a past teeming with heroes and extraordinary citizens who have so much to teach us about patriotism. All you need to bring is your curiosity about the birth of our democracy-I've got plenty of tricornered hats for everyone!

Rush Limbaugh (Author), Rush Limbaugh (Narrator)

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