Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Growing Up & Facts of Life

Friar Tuck, a big golden Labrador, is young Helen’s inseparable companion. She still remembers the sunny day three years ago when her father dumped the fat, wriggling puppy into her surprised arms and said, “All yours, Helen.” Since then, her dog has grown into a wonderful friend for the lanky, red-haired girl. No one knows exactly when Tuck began to go blind. By the time Helen and her parents notice the symptoms, the dog is knocking over chairs and can no longer chase squirrels.

The Big Wander is a trip 14-year-old Clay Lancaster and his older brother Mike have planned for years. It’s Clay’s dream to find his ex-rodeo-star uncle, who quit the tour and disappeared somewhere in the vast and colorful Monument Valley. But Mike - heartbroken and unfocused after losing his girlfriend - soon heads for home. Clay, however, will not give up. He finds a job in a remote trading post, and follows a lead on his uncle’s whereabouts that takes him deep into Navajo country.

Life is hard for 12-year-old Lucas. First Uncle Asa dies of consumption, then Lizy and Pa. Now Mama is sick. And Lucas is the only one left to take care of her and their Connecticut farm. By the time his neighbor tells him of a strange, new cure, it is too late - Mama has just died. Reeling with sorrow, Lucas wanders until he sees a "help wanted" sign for a doctor's apprentice. He feels better while he is helping to pull teeth, visit the sick, and bury the dead.

Pinky has gotten on the bad side of Kevin, the third grade bully. Kevin thinks Pinky is a sissy because he wears pink, rides a pink bike and plays with Rex - a girl. He even knocks Pinky off his bike. If that’s not embarrassing enough, Mrs. Morgan - an old woman - has to rescue Pinky! Pinky is so upset, he decides to change his name to Billy and lets his sister, Amanda, take all his stuffed animals because they’re all pink. Will Mrs. Morgan and Rex find a way for Pinky to be himself, or has he changed forever?

The Valorim are about to fall to a dark lord when they send a necklace containing their planet across the cosmos, hurtling past a trillion stars...all the way into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Mourning his late mother, Tommy doesn't notice much about the chain he found, but soon he is drawing the twin suns and humming the music of a hanorah. As Tommy absorbs the art and language of the Valorim, their enemies target him.

In An American Plague, Jim Murphy tells the story of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic. Bizarre medical practices of the time are discussed, as well as popular historical figures, such as George Washington and Benjamin Rush, who were involved in finding a cure for this horrific outbreak. Pat Bottino's captivating narration adds appeal to this interesting historical tale.

Newbery medal-winner and recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Cynthia Rylant instills gentle humor into this cozy listen. When Mr. Putter goes outside without a hat on, he catches a cold. Tabby tries to make Mr. Putter feel better, but "colds aren't so much fun when you're old." Yet his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke know just the thing to help Mr. Putter recover.

Pinky and Rex's neighbor Mrs. Morgan isn't really a mean old witch. But she sure acts like one, yelling and waving her broom around every time the kids step onto her lawn. Now she's taken their ball, just because it accidentally rolled into her yard. So Rex and Pinky and Pinky's sister, Amanda...

Luke Bledsoe has a wicked fastball. But he shouldn’t be pitching, or even playing ball—especially not left-handed. That’s the side of the devil, says his pa‚ a fundamentalist preacher. But Luke’s new-found friends and left-handed uncle say he’s blessed with God-given talent. Luke doesn’t know who to believe anymore. All his life, this young teen’s been trying to please his pa. Now it’s time to sort out what he wants for himself.

Since her brother died, Lily has pretended to be brain damaged, and no one knows her secret. That is, until a troubled girl named Tinny refuses to leave her alone. But Tinny's meddling soon gets Lily into a jam that threatens their safety.

Willful and high-spirited, exerting his independence at every turn, 10-year-old Robert "Robbie" Burns Hewitt plans to live life to the fullest - because the world is going to end at the turn of the century anyway! The year 1900 is fast approaching. Robbie decides that living by The Ten Commandments, which have been drilled into his head by his preacher father, is not meant for him - since he "ain’t got the knack for holiness." On his quest to be his own person, he stirs up trouble daily.

With feudal wars raging through the Japanese countryside, it is no place for children, particularly homeless orphans like six-year-old Saru, who grow up fast and hard in the cold city. When begging does not fill his stomach, stealing and cunning do the trick. The only warmth Saru knows is from a kindly priest who allows him to sleep under his little Shinto shrine in the winter, and Neko, his adopted kitten. Living day-by-day, Saru gives little thought to the future or the course his life might take.

Amanda can’t believe it when Ernestine shows up at the piano teacher’s house for lessons. Everyone knows Ernestine can’t read music. She can only play by ear. And even worse, Ernestine begins talking and laughing with Amanda’s best friend. The two 10-year-olds have never gotten along, and Amanda intends to keep it that way. But music lessons and the really annoying fact that Ernestine’s brother is dating Amanda’s sister keep throwing the two together. Somehow they discover they aren’t really enemies. In fact, they are beginning to need each other.

Following the death of her mentally ill mother, 11-year-old Zoë moves to North Carolina to live with her uncle, a metal sculptor named Henry. It doesn’t take long for the sharp-tongued Zoë to warm to some of the town’s eccentric residents, including a woods dwelling teenager, who helps Zoë in unexpected ways.

Newbery Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Avi recreates the sights and sounds of wartime Brooklyn in this fast-paced story. Like every student in Miss Gossim’s 1943 fifth-grade class, Howie Crispers has one thing on his mind: World War II. When he isn’t in school, Howie stays busy watching for Nazi spies. So when he notices his principal acting suspiciously, it’s his patriotic duty to investigate. But what he discovers is far more devastating than any headline at the newsstand.

In 1790, during the summer of her 12th year, Rosemary makes a new friend. Mrs. DiAngeli and her husband have moved into the village in North Carolina where Rosemary lives. When the girl visits, Mrs. DiAngeli talks and laughs with Rosemary as she would with another adult. Immediately, Rosemary treasures their relationship. But Rosemary knows that her friend is different from the rest of her neighbors. Mrs. DiAngeli is one of the few Catholics in the area. She has artistic gifts and visions that arouse fear and suspicion in the small village.

Alexander’s two brothers have money in their pockets. All he has are bus tokens. It isn’t fair. He had money last Sunday when his grandparents gave them each a dollar. Now it’s all gone. At first he was saving the money for a walkie-talkie. But saving money is hard. He bought gum with some of the money, and when it stopped tasting good, he had to buy more. Good-bye 15 cents. Then Eddie offered to rent him his snake for an hour, and he couldn’t pass up a chance like that....

In 1905, 10-year-old Lavina Cumming hugs her father good-bye and boards a train headed north. She is leaving her father, her five brothers, and her ranch in Arizona Territory to live with her rich aunt in California. With warmth and charm, award-winning author Susan Lowell paints a unique portrait of life in historic California. I Am Lavina Cumming blends adventure, friendship, and southwestern lore into a delightful story that will win the hearts of young listeners everywhere.

When the boys’ parents are called away by a family emergency, Doug and his older brother, Gordon, are left on their own in their Rocky Mountain campsite. The brothers are fighting, though, so it isn’t long before Gordon stomps away from the campsite, leaving Doug completely alone. When neither Gordon nor his parents return after three days, 12-year-old Doug fears the worst. He knows Gordon has gone to a high ridge in the Comanche Peak Wilderness - the Fear Place. Will Doug and a newfound friend - a cougar - find his brother?

This extraordinary fantasy teams together two delightful characters: Varloo, from the secret underground Druid caves known as Hek, and Dougie, from the lands above this civilization, suburban California. These two unlikely heroes realize that a plan to build a development on the land above the caves must be stopped in order to preserve their existence.