Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Poetry & Nursery Rhymes

Anikwa and James, 12 years old in 1812, spend their days fishing, trapping, and exploring together in the forests of the Indiana Territory. To Anikwa and his family, members of the Miami tribe, this land has been home for centuries. As traders, James' family has ties to the Miami community as well as to the American soldiers in the fort. Now tensions are rising - the British and American armies prepare to meet at Fort Wayne for a crucial battle, and Native Americans from surrounding tribes gather in Kekionga to protect their homeland.

Taut free verse tells the little-known story of the first contraband camp of the Civil War - seen by some historians as the "beginning of the end of slavery in America". One night in 1861, three escaped slaves made their way from the Confederate line to a Union-held fort. The runaways were declared "contraband of war" and granted protection. As word spread, thousands of runaway slaves poured into the fort, seeking their freedom. These "contrabands" made a home for themselves, building the first African American community in the country.

"I have lost my new blue socks. Did I put them in my box?" Simple rhymes - including "socks", "box", "fox, " and "ox"! - spin the tale of a small duck who waddles through the countryside, forlornly searching for his blue socks. "I'm trying not to be depressed. / Without my socks I feel undressed." Finally, a sharp-eyed peacock sees a bit of blue peeking out of duck's lace-up shoes and the mini-mystery is solved! This winsome story shares the familiar experience of not really losing something after all.

John Farrell takes kids on a rhyming tour of the night sky, from A to Z, with facts about the wonders of space. From distant Andromeda, a galaxy made up of billions of stars, to the constellation of the zodiac, Farrell covers the high points of outer space. How do you find Jupiter or Venus? How does the Moon cause the tides of Earth's shores? How can you find the North Star, and why do all other stars seem to go around it? The answers to these and many other questions are contained in this beautiful volume of science that will delight a young listener's imagination.

This collection of short poems from Newbery Award-winning author Paul Fleischman delightfully celebrates the essence of birds. The companion to Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, its poems feature two voices speaking sometimes together and sometimes in turn. Experience the magic and magnificence of the immortal phoenix. Enjoy the fluttering elation of finches at dawn and the swiftness of swallows at dusk. And empathize with the loneliness of the pigeon in the Cincinnati Zoo.

When the ferocious beast with the polka-dot hide catches a piglet, he has a tough decision to make: whether to have him on whole wheat or rye bread. But the clever piglet saves his own life when he convinces the beast that the seams on his polka-dot hide are about to burst. To save his hide, the beast agrees to let the piglet fix all of his meals. “You have to eat the foods you like the least,” the piglet tells the beast. Soon, the beast is too sick to move, and the piglet sees his chance for escape.

This is a book for kids who wish they were jumping in leaf piles and climbing trees instead of learning their multiplication tables. It's for kids who worry that they'll never make it out of third grade, or that the other kids will make fun of them, or that their best will never be good enough. Messy desks, forgotten homework, embarrassing hiccups, favorite teachers - they're all here in these silly, sad, and funny poems.

Grasshoppers, waterstriders, and fireflies light up the pages of this rib-tickling book of poetry for two voices. Written as spirited duets, the poems ring with the love songs of book lice, the serenades of moths, and a choir of cicadas. Each one is a treat, filled with busy insect life. In addition to the voices of these frisky critters, there are also fascinating tidbits about their lives and habits.

Henry has been deaf from an early age. He's intelligent and aware of language, but by age six, he has decided it's not safe to speak to strangers. When the time comes for him to start school, he is labeled "unteachable." Because his family has very little money, his parents and older sister, Molly, feel powerless to help him. Henry's sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated, and harshly treated. Victor, a conscientious objector to World War II, is part of a Civilian Public Service program and arrives at Riverview to serve as an attendant in 1942.

From award-winning Irish author Meg Grehan comes an accessible and beautifully crafted middle-grade novel-in-verse about Stevie, a young girl reckoning with anxiety about the many things she has yet to understand - including her feelings about her friend Chloe.

15-year-old Dylan has always felt like an outsider in his small town. Isolated when he was younger as the result of his unpredictable, now absent mother and feeling like a disappointment to his grandfather who has stepped in to raise him, Dylan finds relief in the woods behind his grandfather's auto shop. Amidst the cool quiet of the trees, Dylan thrives on bird watching and writing poetry. But one afternoon after spotting an injured hawk, Dylan finds himself pushing out of his comfort zone to track down help for the bird—and ends up rescuing a part of himself in the process.

Who is the Nozzlewock? Why should we beware of it—and of the dragon who knows its secrets?In this story, you’ll meet a wild array of characters, including ghost guppies and the brave girl who creates them; Stan the Slouching Man™ who’ll teach you black belt slouching; oozing dinosaurs called Squishosaurs, and a dragon you shouldn’t try to trick … You—and many of the characters—will also meet the mysterious Nozzlewock.

Walt Whitman is celebrated as an iconic American poet, but few know of the crucial and heroic role he played tending to the wounded and dying in Civil War hospitals. This nonfiction book highlights Whitman’s compassion and teaches an important lesson about empathy. New York Times-bestselling author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honor artist E. B. Lewis bring Whitman’s story and his passion for America to life.

It's 1972 and Viva’s Indian family has been expelled from Uganda and sent to a resettlement camp in England, but not all of them made the trip. Her father is supposed to meet them in London, but he never shows up. As they wait for him, Viva, her mother, and her sister get settled in camp and try to make the best of their life there.

In this rollicking, rhyming book, a pair of siblings who are supposed to be in bed discover a jazz band playing in their basement.