Showing results by narrator "Jenn Leigh Pengelly" in All Categories

At the age of 23, Deanne Burch accompanied her husband, Ernest "Tiger" Burch, to the Inuit village of Kivalina, Alaska, a barrier island 23 miles above the Arctic Circle. Tiger was conducting a participant study of the natives, whereas Deanne was a city girl—ethnocentric, naïve, and completely unprepared for the journey she was about to embark on. In Kivalina, she lived on the edge of two worlds—the one she left behind, and the one where she reluctantly participated in all aspects of the women's lives.

A young girl lies huddled in a cardboard box, shrinking away from the social workers who have come to rescue her from a homeless camp. She doesn’t speak, and affection seems alien to her as she has no apparent ties to anyone.

Just an ordinary morning for Sarah Sweeting—watching her favorite baking show, Cupcake Rivalry, getting ready for work at her Granny’s small-town bakery. All that changes when Sarah spots a contestant who looks like her, sounds like her, moves like her. Was this her twin sister? The twin her mother ran away with 20 years ago? Were hers and Granny’s prayers finally being answered? When Granny confirms Sarah’s shocking discovery, Granny suffers a heart attack.

Take the beautiful, biblical story of Esther, change the lead character’s race from Jewish to biracial, place the location in New York City during the 1960s era of turmoil at the time of the Civil Rights movement, and you have a modern-day parallel story to Esther.

Anne wonders what secret her three older brothers are hiding. When she finds out they joined to fight with the Union Army and would leave the next day, she give them each one of her favorite two-cent pieces, and says, “I want you to take one of my new two-cent pieces. I learned these coins are the first with the word 'In God We Trust.' I just memorized Psalm 91:2. ‘I will say to the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God, in him will I trust.’” Out of a heart of love, Ann gives six of her special coins away hoping the message on the two-cent piece will strengthen each person’s faith.

Imagination Checkers—checkers like it has never been played before. Every afternoon, Cricket and Poppy dress up as a character and act the part before making a move on the checkerboard. Snake-charmers, rock stars, and astronauts are some of their favorites.

When battle-hardened Private Bernie Russell witnesses a fellow soldier shoot a young German boy with his hands up, he’s shaken to his very core. Then, as that same boy is dying, he presses a packet of photographs and letters into Bernie’s hand and utters three words in English. "It must end."

Could life get any worse for fifteen-year-old Geri? It’s hot. It’s buggy, and she’s at the worst place on the planet … summer camp. To make matters worse, Geri carries the pain of her parents’ separation. Nonetheless, she’ll do anything to make her dreams of going to Juilliard come true, even if that means squashing spiders in the pursuit of a college scholarship.