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

Thirteen-year-old Mic Parsons is surrounded by weird people. He has a deaf and blind sister who clunks noisily around the house. And Vern Chortle has moved onto his street. A truly strange kid who wears outrageous socks and a beeper watch, Vern has decided Mic should be his best friend. Mic has a bigger problem, though. He’s got to pass math, or his parents won’t let him try out for the baseball team.

Henry and his big dog, Mudge, like to play outside. But when a thunderstorm begins, Mudge is unhappy. He wants to go inside. He wants to hide from the loud thunder and sharp lightning. Soon the storm is very windy and noisy, and the lights have gone out. As Mudge hides his head in the sofa, Henry and his parents light candles and play cards. Then, armed with a flashlight, Henry goes on a rescue mission.

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.

In 1790, during the summer of her 16th 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.

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.

All Eddie wants is to find a way out of the dangerous life he's living, where his friends are lost in a world of drugs and violence. Even his aunt wants to give him a gun so he can avenge the death of her son. But no matter how hard he works, Eddie can't seem to pull himself away from the sweltering sadness of the city. It's as if giant onions had been buried beneath him, Eddie thinks, releasing shimmering vapors off the black asphalt all around.

Rose Frampton is content with life on her family's plantation in South Carolina, but the year 1900 brings many changes for the 15-year-old. She could never imagine that she would marry a Yankee and become the mistress of a New York City estate. Uprooted from the tranquil shores of Saint Helena's Island, she comes to know and love Rene, learns to make her own decisions, and finds an untapped inner strength.

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.

In this delightful tale by Newbery Award winner Cynthia Rylant, Mr. Putter doesn't share Mrs. Teaberry's enthusiasm for a class on 100 ways to cook beans. And yet - finding it hard to say no to his kind friend - he attends the class with her anyhow, expecting to be bored.

Ever since his mother died and his father went to Brazil for a scientific expedition, 14-year-old Jacob Lansa has been staying with his grandfather in Poughkeepsie. He longs to join his father and help him set up a jaguar preserve in the rain forest, but he can't miss school. When his father invites him down over spring break, he jumps at the chance.

Wake up, Mudge! It's Henry's birthday! At first, the floppy dog wants to keep sleeping, but when Henry mentions birthday cake, and ice cream, Mudge's big brown eyes pop open. Join Henry, Mudge, and their friends on a sunny May day filled with balloons, games - and surprises for the little boy and his big dog. This birthday party is every child's dream, especially when it includes crackers from the sky!

Lincoln is happy to be going to Japan as a martial arts exchange student. So is Tony, his barrio brother from San Francisco. They're excited about living in a dojo, or school for martial arts, and practicing the art of kempo. When Lincoln arrives in Japan, he is surprised to find that the dojo is a vacant lot. He will be living on a small farm with the Ono family, whose mother reminds him of his own. The father likes to play practical jokes, and the son, Mitsuo, likes baseball.

In their 14th adventure, Mr. Putter and Tabby spend a lovely morning eating apple jam and raisin crumpets when suddenly Mr. Putter remembers it's his birthday. He decides to celebrate by inviting Mrs. Teaberry over for tea, but Mrs. Teaberry keeps calling to delay her visit. Will she make it before it is tomorrow - and someone else's birthday?

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.

Oscar the caterpillar lives in a flower pot in Cleveland. One day, a monarch butterfly floats by, headed for Mexico. Oscar learns that he will one day have wings too - but when that day comes, Oscar gets quite a surprise.

Now that Pauline Esmeralda Simone-Thierry von Cant has been rescued from Castle Cant by her half-sister and former maidservant, Lucy, the real adventure begins. For there are forces that want to tear Pauline and Lucy apart. In their land, a war rages over chewing gum.

Growing up without parents and without schooling, 14-year-old Cloyd is trouble - trouble to himself and everyone else. Sent by his tribe to a home for Indian boys, he is alone and half-wild in remote Utah canyons. As his feeling of isolation turns to desperation, he runs away to find even more trouble. When Cloyd is found and taken to live with an old rancher, he begins to explore the countryside.

Twelve-year-old Pascal can hardly believe his ears. His older, run-away brother has returned to the plantation with an amazing story: President Lincoln has freed the slaves. Not only that, each newly-freed family can have 40 acres of land and maybe a mule, just for the asking. Now all Pascal and his brother have to do is sneak away from their angry master - and find out where the government is giving away farmland.

When Joe Stoshack holds a baseball card, his hand starts to tingle. And if the card is old enough - like the rare Babe Ruth card his father gives him for his 12th birthday - Joe can travel back in time! One of baseball's greatest mysteries is whether or not the Babe actually called his fifth-inning home run in the 1932 World Series. With Joe's new card, he can solve that mystery once and for all. But when Joe and his father travel back in time, they find more than the answer to a baseball mystery.

When Petey Corbin is born in 1920, no one knows about cerebral palsy. After struggling to care for her frail infant who is often racked by seizures, Petey's mother reluctantly places him in an asylum. There, he is labeled an idiot and ignored. Few people look beyond his twisted body to see the intelligence in his eyes. Then another young resident, Calvin Anders, arrives in Petey's ward. As he learns to understand Petey's garbled sounds, Calvin becomes his spokesman and best friend.