Try free for 30 days
-
Take Back the Block
- Narrated by: Genesis Oliver, Chrystal D. Giles
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $21.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also picked
-
Show Me a Sign
- By: Ann Clare LeZotte
- Narrated by: Nora Hunter
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there - including Mary - are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage. But recent events have delivered winds of change.
-
The Night Diary
- By: Veera Hiranandani
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home.
-
-
The different voices
- By Anonymous User on 13-01-2024
-
All Thirteen
- The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
- By: Christina Soontornvat
- Narrated by: Quincy Surasmith, Christina Soontornvat
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon’s adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. As the world sits vigil, people begin to wonder: how long can a group of ordinary kids survive in complete darkness, with no food or clean water?
-
When You Trap a Tiger
- (Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal)
- By: Tae Keller
- Narrated by: Greta Jung
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal - return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health - Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger.
-
The Stars Beneath Our Feet
- By: David Barclay Moore
- Narrated by: Nile Bullock, David Barclay Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but 12-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
-
Tight
- By: Torrey Maldonado
- Narrated by: Torrey Maldonado
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bryan knows what's tight for him - reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama is every day where he's from, and that gets him tight, wound up. And now Bryan's friend Mike pressures him with ideas of fun that are crazy risky. At first, it's a rush following Mike, hopping turnstiles, subway surfing, and getting into all kinds of trouble. But Bryan never really feels right acting so wrong, and drama really isn't him. So which way will he go, especially when his dad tells him it's better to be hard and feared than liked?
-
Show Me a Sign
- By: Ann Clare LeZotte
- Narrated by: Nora Hunter
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there - including Mary - are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage. But recent events have delivered winds of change.
-
The Night Diary
- By: Veera Hiranandani
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home.
-
-
The different voices
- By Anonymous User on 13-01-2024
-
All Thirteen
- The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
- By: Christina Soontornvat
- Narrated by: Quincy Surasmith, Christina Soontornvat
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon’s adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. As the world sits vigil, people begin to wonder: how long can a group of ordinary kids survive in complete darkness, with no food or clean water?
-
When You Trap a Tiger
- (Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal)
- By: Tae Keller
- Narrated by: Greta Jung
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal - return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health - Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger.
-
The Stars Beneath Our Feet
- By: David Barclay Moore
- Narrated by: Nile Bullock, David Barclay Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but 12-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
-
Tight
- By: Torrey Maldonado
- Narrated by: Torrey Maldonado
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bryan knows what's tight for him - reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama is every day where he's from, and that gets him tight, wound up. And now Bryan's friend Mike pressures him with ideas of fun that are crazy risky. At first, it's a rush following Mike, hopping turnstiles, subway surfing, and getting into all kinds of trouble. But Bryan never really feels right acting so wrong, and drama really isn't him. So which way will he go, especially when his dad tells him it's better to be hard and feared than liked?
-
Blended
- By: Sharon M. Draper
- Narrated by: Sharon M. Draper
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Isabella’s parents are divorced, so she has to switch lives every week: One week she’s Isabella with her dad, his girlfriend Anastasia, and her son, Darren, living in a fancy house where they are one of the only black families in the neighborhood. The next week she’s Izzy with her mom and her boyfriend, John-Mark, in a small, not-so-fancy house that she loves. Because of this, Isabella has always felt pulled between two worlds. And now that her parents are divorced, it seems their fights are even worse, and they’re always about her.
-
-
Disturbingly real
- By Anonymous User on 01-01-2023
-
Amal Unbound
- By: Aisha Saeed
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she has no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when - as the eldest daughter - she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens - after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt.
-
New Kid
- By: Jerry Craft
- Narrated by: Jesus Del Orden, Nile Bullock, Robin Miles, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds - and not really fitting into either one.
-
-
Awesome audiobook!
- By atannyboy on 16-08-2019
-
Not an Easy Win
- By: Chrystal D. Giles
- Narrated by: Nile Bullock, Chrystal D. Giles
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nothing’s gone right for Lawrence since he had to move from Charlotte to Larenville, North Carolina, to live with his granny. When Lawrence ends up in one too many fights at his new school, he gets expelled. The fight wasn’t his fault, but since his pop’s been gone, it feels like no one listens to what Lawrence has to say. Instead of going to school, Lawrence starts spending his days at the rec center, helping out a neighbor who runs a chess program. Some of the kids in the program will be picked to compete in the Charlotte Classic chess tournament. Could this be Lawrence's chance to go home?
-
Class Act
- By: Jerry Craft
- Narrated by: Nile Bullock, Jesus Del Orden, Guy Lockard, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighth-grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good”. His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works 10 times as hard and still isn’t afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted? To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids.
-
Ways to Make Sunshine
- Ryan Hart, Book 1
- By: Renée Watson
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson comes the first book in a young middle grade series about Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit, kindness and sunshine. Ryan Hart has a lot on her mind – school, self-image and especially family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means some changes, like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks.
-
Frindle
- By: Andrew Clements
- Narrated by: Keith Nobbs
- Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever: the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero.
-
Freewater
- By: Amina Luqman-Dawson
- Narrated by: Cary Hite, Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the cover of night, 12-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.
-
Towers Falling
- By: Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Narrated by: Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
Something to Say
- By: Lisa Moore Ramée
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Jenae doesn’t have any friends - and she’s just fine with that. She’s so good at being invisible in school, it’s almost like she has a superpower, like her idol, Astrid Dane. At home, Jenae has plenty of company, like her no-nonsense mama; her older brother, Malcolm, who is home from college after a basketball injury; and her beloved grandpa, Gee. Then a new student shows up at school - a boy named Aubrey with fiery red hair and a smile that won’t quit. Jenae can’t figure out why he keeps popping up everywhere she goes.
-
There Was a Party for Langston
- By: Jason Reynolds, Jerome Pumphrey - illustrator, Jarrett Pumphrey - illustrator
- Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
- Length: 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You are INVITED. To a most marvelous party. For a most marvelous man. A man who turned the alphabet into THUMP A BUMP. Who turned words into JAZZ into RIVERS into BUSTIN' A MOVE. All of his word-children will be there, uh-huh. Because it’s a party for LANGSTON. Langston Hughes. King o’ Letters. Renaissance Man. So don’t be shy. Come on in. To the Hoopla in Harlem. EVERYONE is welcome.
-
Maniac Magee
- By: Jerry Spinelli
- Narrated by: S. Epatha Merkerson
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He wasn't born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. And Maniac Magee became a legend. Even today kids talk about how fast he could run; about how he hit an inside-the-park "frog" homer; about how no knot, no matter how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. But the thing Maniac Magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the East Side and those from the West Side.
Publisher's Summary
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee
"This book made me want to step aside, hand over the mic, and listen to Wes. A must-read." (Mariama J. Lockington, author of For Black Girls Like Me)
Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee.
Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That—and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games—is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.
But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they're doing is arguing. Even Wes' best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn't about to give up the only home he's ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it...before it's too late?
Exploring community, gentrification, justice, and friendship, Take Back the Block introduces an irresistible sixth grader and asks what it means to belong—to a place and a movement—and to fight for what you believe in.
* "Outstanding."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
* “Transformative.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Filled with hope, friendship, and grit."—Stacy McAnulty, best-selling author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
"Timely and penetrating."—Kelly Starling Lyons, author of Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations
"Chrystal Giles's sparkling debut will have you standing up and cheering."—Lisa Yee, award winning author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius
"Chrystal Giles really nailed it. I loved this book."—Linda Williams Jackson, award winning author of Midnight Without a Moon
"Necessary and inspiring. An empowering read."—Ashley Herring Blake, author of the Stonewall Honor Book Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
"Wes will welcome middle grade readers into his delightful circle of friends, his strong and loving family, and his powerful community."—Barbara Dee, author of the ALA Notable Children's Book Maybe He Just Likes You
Critic Reviews
★ "The story echoes contemporary realities that, as its culmination indicates, take an entire community to confront, and it will undoubtedly push readers into action. An ambitious invitation for young readers that delivers promise for all."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
★ "This impressive debut is notable for its depiction of how gentrification pushes the working-class poor out of neighborhoods, as well as substantive ways that communities can protest, all for a middle grade audience. Wes is a humorous, likable, relatable narrator. . . . Giles has crafted an outstanding depiction of the nuances of gentrification as well as the struggle and joys of working-class Black families and communities."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
“A timely, relatable story about family, friendship, community, and racism. The underlying message: you are never too young to make your voice heard.”—The Horn Book