Showing results by narrator "Kevin M. Connolly" in All Categories

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: “So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. - Gabe” Ethan knows that the "someone" must be his little sister, Emma, who keeps climbing out of bed to play. She obviously needs a monster to help her get to sleep, but not his monster! Will Ethan lose Gabe forever?

In seven years, the Vengeful One will shatter the world into pieces. To stop him, one god must take the others’ powers–and six gods must die. And so, Ethasar’s kingdoms clash in a war for the fates of their gods. Frida, a fearless pirate captain, leads the Islanders to war. But a treacherous rival sinks half her fleet and joins forces with the vampire queen. Now, Frida must prevail over orcs and giants, knights and vampires, desert men and imperial legions. If she fails, the sea god dies.

When Carla brings weird sandwiches to school, her classmates have plenty to say about them. “That's sick!” says Leslie. “That's disgusting!” says Natie. But Carla thinks otherwise. “It's unique. It's creative.” Just like Carla. Although she is teased and even ignored by her classmates, Carla's strong inner sense of uniqueness eventually wins them over.

The epic conclusion of the great war of the gods. With two gods and thirteen champions already dead, the War of the Seven nears its end. Queen Elena continues her advance toward Hearthstone, intent on destroying the Lady and avenging her lover's death. Emperor Lucius and Queen Frida travel...

Carla loves to be different. So when her teacher announces an upcoming vision screening, Carla hopes she'll be the only kid in class to need glasses. To prepare for her new look, she starts wearing homemade funky frames to school each day. Turns out that the only one who needs glasses is Buster. But unlike Carla, Buster does NOT like to be different. He likes to blend in. When Carla concocts an ingenious plan to help Buster, it's clear to see that the power of friendship—and Carla's creativity—will save the day.

One of Ethasar’s gods has just died. Five more gods must perish until only one remains. The War of the Seven rages on as Ethasar’s kingdoms fight for the fates of their gods. In the north, Queen Marion and her knights battle Queen Elena’s diminished forces, while most of Elena’s vampire nobles fly to defend their kingdom from the giants’ invasion.

In this wondrous story, two children explore the caves and coves of the tiny and oddly-named Giant Island. They are thrilled to discover that the island is, in fact, a submerged giant.

When Emmy accidentally spills juice on her dad's pants, she takes refuge behind Mom's knee. Expecting a reprimand, Emmy is surprised when Mom tells Dad, “Now, sweetheart, you should let it be. After all...she's only three.” What an amazing discovery! She's too young to be punished!

Cats. You either love 'em or hate 'em. But what happens when Mom loves cats and Dad detests them? In That Cat Can't Stay, Mom keeps adopting stray cats while Dad's objections get more and more absurd: “Mom found a little calico. / Dad said, That thing has got to go. There's no use begging. Don't say please. / I don't like cats. They scratch my knees. They carry fleas. They make me sneeze. / They're always getting stuck in trees. I want it gone. Send it away. / I'm telling you, that cat can't stay.”

What do you get when you put together the coolest kid in class, an unpredictable live-in grandmother, and a caring but anxious grandson? Disaster? No. You get to know Ruben Plotnick. David is worried about how zany Ruben Plotnick will react when he meets Grandma Rosie, who often says and does unexpected things. Will Ruben make fun of her to their classmates? Will he imitate her whispery voice? What will he do if Grandma Rosie suddenly wants to dance?

Despite some silly, sleepy mistakes, genteel Jackson finds a fun and quiet activity for each of his noisy neighbors. He finally gets a great night's sleep–and discovers three new friends in the morning.

Darcy has plans. She and her friend are going to play dress up, do each other's hair, and polish their nails. Daddy has plans, too. He's going to read the paper, mow the lawn, and fix the fence. When Darcy's friend cancels and she's sure her day is ruined, Daddy suggests a Darcy-Daddy Day. Now they can tackle their to-do lists together. But will Darcy enjoy hammering? Will Daddy do nails? You bet!

US Marines Capt. Kramer and his dog Sgt. Shadow survive hell in Afghanistan - but worse awaits them back home. You Can Run is not your average crime thriller. Full of crime, absolutely! A thrilling ride, most definitely! But Greg Smith takes it up a couple of notches, pulls you, the listener, into a dangerous, action-packed FBI operation. You enter the world of 2 US Marines who offer their services to bring down a diabolical kingpin.

As he leaves his small, Midwestern town behind and heads off to marine boot camp, young farm boy Kramer hopes his new life will dull the recent loss of his dearest friend. Years later, battle hardened and war weary, Captain Kramer rescues a pup at the scene of a horrific car bombing while deployed to Afghanistan, and a new friendship is born. Months later Kramer and his new friend, Shadow, are back home in California, recuperating from serious injuries received in a deadly ambush by the Taliban.

This short tale about a man's desire to live a different kind of life unfolds during a single day. At the crack of dawn the ferryman opens his eyes to find an impatient businessman nudging him with his foot. The businessman demands they cross the river. Immediately. Right this second. Not a minute to spare.

If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in - and that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy when his family gears up for some changes. The boy and his dragon bounce in their castle, duel with delight, and have an amazing time together...until they find out that their castle is a crib for a new baby. Huh? As soon as they get used to the news, the boy and dragon are back in roaring form, entertaining the infant with marching music, aerial acrobatics, and baby-bottle bowling. But merriment turns to mischief and mischief leads to consequences.

If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in. And that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy at the beach. Dad is busy sunbathing, and Mom is busy with her book, so the boy and dragon roam the beach together, flying a kite, braving the waves, and roasting marshmallows. But no one believes him when he shares the news of his magnificent dragon: Mom only hears the roar of the ocean, Dad thinks the dragon feather is a seagull feather, and know-it-all sis claims there's no such thing as a dragon.

Early in August 1937, a news flash came: A sea monster had been spotted lurking off the shore of Nantucket Island. Historically, the Massachusetts island had served as port for whaling ships. Eyewitnesses swore this wasn’t a whale, but some new, fearsome creature. As eyewitness account piled up, newspaper stories of the sea monster spread quickly. Across the nation, people shivered in fear.

Solid wax is somehow changed into light and heat. But how? Travel back in time to December 28, 1848 in London, England to one of the most famous juvenile science Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) encouraged kids to carefully observe a candle and to try to figure out how it burned. Known as one of the best science experimenters ever, Faraday’s passion was always to answer the basic questions of science: “What is the cause? Why does it occur?”