spring/summer 2011 recent releases — young & middle grade
spring/summer 2011 recent releases — young & middle grade
spring/summer 2011 recent releases — young & middle grade
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A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO<br />
read by Ron McLarty<br />
NEWBERY HONOR<br />
When Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, travel<br />
from their Chicago home to their grandmother’s<br />
small town, they don’t expect the<br />
crazy adventures they encounter.<br />
“This is a book that cries out to be read aloud,<br />
and this production fulfills that potential.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>The Horn Book<br />
“As close to perfection as an audiobook can<br />
get.”<strong>—</strong>KLIATT<br />
★“Part vaudeville act, part laconic tall tale, the<br />
stories, with their dirty tricks and cunning<br />
plots, make you laugh out loud at the farce and<br />
snicker at the reversals.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>Booklist, starred review<br />
KLIATT Editors’ Choice<strong>—</strong>Audiobooks<br />
YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults<br />
4 CDs • 978-0-3072-0739-5 • $38.00<br />
Grade: RL: 5.0 • IL: 3-7 • LL: 750 • 4 hrs. 17 mins.<br />
A YEAR DOWN YONDER<br />
read by Lois Smith<br />
NEWBERY MEDAL<br />
Mary Alice moves in with Grandma Dowdel<br />
for the year, returning for more astonishing,<br />
laugh-out-loud adventures.<br />
“Lois Smith’s masterful comic timing has a<br />
country flair that conveys Peck’s humorous and<br />
heartwarming book perfectly.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>School Library Journal<br />
“Narrator Lois Smith captures Grandma<br />
Dowdel’s character and spirit.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
ALSC Notable Children’s Recording<br />
3 CDs • 978-0-8072-1169-4 • $30.00<br />
Grade: RL: 5.2 • IL: 5-12 • LL: 610 • 3 hrs. 25 mins.<br />
A SEASON OF GIFTS<br />
read by Ron McLarty<br />
It’s 1958, and when a new family moves in<br />
next door to Mrs. Dowdel they are “gifted”<br />
with her sage advice and irresistible spunk.<br />
★“Pitch-perfect prose, laced with humor and<br />
poignancy, strong characterization…one of<br />
Peck’s best novels yet.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>Kirkus Review, starred review<br />
“Ron McLarty’s pacing, cadence, and tone fit<br />
the setting and characters perfectly. Peck has<br />
treated readers to another literary gift, and<br />
McLarty reads it with aplomb.”<strong>—</strong>AudioFile<br />
“McLarty deftly reads this charming story. His<br />
solid narration, accompanied by superb<br />
comedic timing, captures the hilarity and emotions<br />
with much feeling. Great for family road<br />
trips, as a journey with Grandma Dowdel is<br />
guaranteed fun.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
AUDIE Finalist<br />
AudioFile Earphones Award<br />
3 CDs • 978-0-7393-8548-7 • $30.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.6 • IL: 4-8 • LL: 690 • 3 hrs. 50 mins.<br />
wwRICHARD PECKww<br />
Winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award<br />
“Coupled with a swift, bright narrative<br />
style and a coruscating sense of humor<br />
is...a fistful of genius for characterization<br />
and a fine feel for language<strong>—</strong>Richard<br />
Peck’s recipe.”<strong>—</strong>Kirkus Reviews<br />
FAIR WEATHER<br />
read by Estelle Parsons<br />
Transport back to 1893, to the Chicago<br />
World’s Fair and its breathtaking mix of<br />
personalities and glimpses of the future.<br />
“Parsons’ weathered voice perfectly complements<br />
this nostalgic historical novel.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
“Listeners can imagine how amazing the new<br />
inventions of the times must have seemed.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>AudioFile<br />
3 CDs • 978-0-3072-4632-5 • $30.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.7 • IL: 4-8 • LL: 670 • 3 hrs. 30 mins.<br />
HERE LIES THE LIBRARIAN<br />
read by Lara Everly<br />
Set in 1914, Peewee idolizes his brother Jake<br />
and plans to follow in his footsteps. Then a<br />
<strong>young</strong> librarian works her magic on them both.<br />
“If any author could combine autoracing,<br />
feminism, cross-town rivalries, orphaned<br />
children, a tornado, and libraries into an<br />
engaging novel, that author would be Richard<br />
Peck.”<strong>—</strong>AudioFile<br />
“Lara Everly brings the story to life with great<br />
charm. Listeners will enjoy this well-done<br />
audiobook...”<strong>—</strong>School Library Journal<br />
“In youthful tones Everly portrays Peewee with<br />
a blend of innocence and confidence that captures<br />
the teen years; she conveys the headstrong<br />
librarians with an airy assurance…her reading<br />
of this delightfully offbeat historical novel is<br />
most engaging. Both kids and librarians are<br />
bound to love it.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
3 CDs • 978-0-3072-8596-6 • $30.00<br />
Grade: RL: 5.1 • IL: 7-12 • LL: 780 • 3 hrs. 41 mins.<br />
ON THE WINGS OF HEROES<br />
read by Lincoln Hoppe<br />
A tender, unforgettable portrait of the World<br />
War II homefront and a family’s love.<br />
“Peck’s novel explores the relationships<br />
between fathers and sons, and brothers and<br />
friends during the early days of U.S. involvement<br />
in World War II…Hoppe portrays Davy,<br />
who is bursting at the seams with life, with a<br />
delicate innocence.”<strong>—</strong>School Library Journal<br />
“Hoppe allows the characters to develop<br />
naturally, and his well-timed performance<br />
brings out Peck’s subtle humor. He expertly<br />
voices the large cast of colorful characters,<br />
adding depth to the episodic story.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
3 CDs • 978-0-7393-4860-4 • $30.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.6 • IL: 4-7 • LL: 730 • 3 hrs. 14 mins.<br />
PAST PERFECT, PRESENT TENSE<br />
read by the Author, Lara Schwartzberg,<br />
and Paul Boehmer<br />
A collection of 13 Richard Peck stories with<br />
tips for aspiring authors.<br />
“Richard Peck provides commentary while Lara<br />
Schwartzberg and Paul Boehmer retell his<br />
supernatural and contemporary tales.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>AudioFile<br />
“Hearing the slightly raspy author wax poetic<br />
about the creative process is most inspiring.<br />
A must for <strong>young</strong> bibliophiles and budding<br />
storytellers.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
4 CDs • 978-0-3072-0699-2 • $45.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.9 • IL: 5-12 • LL: NA • 4 hrs. 44 mins.<br />
THE RIVER BETWEEN US<br />
read by Lina Patel and Daniel Passer<br />
During the early days of the Civil War, the<br />
Pruitt family takes in two mysterious <strong>young</strong><br />
ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north<br />
to Illinois.<br />
“Lina Patel narrates in Tilly’s no-nonsense,<br />
Midwestern voice…while Daniel Passer imparts<br />
Howard’s boyishness in this tale of acceptance<br />
and family solidarity.”<strong>—</strong>VOYA<br />
“[Passer] has a pleasant, easy voice and a fine<br />
sense of a boy’s pacing…Lina Patel also excels<br />
with the many characters and the emotional<br />
complexities of the plot.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>School Library Journal<br />
Scott O’Dell Award<br />
VOYA A+ Audiobook<br />
YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults<br />
4 CDs • 978-1-4000-8982-6 • $38.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.9 • IL: 7-12 • LL: 740 • 4 hrs. 48 mins.<br />
THE TEACHER’S FUNERAL<br />
read by Dylan Baker<br />
Russell’s big dreams of quitting school are disrupted<br />
when his sister begins teaching at his oneroom<br />
school.<br />
“Dylan Baker becomes Russell… turning a great<br />
story into an even greater listening experience.”<br />
<strong>—</strong>AudioFile<br />
ALSC Notable Children’s Recording<br />
Christopher Award: Books for Young People<br />
VOYA A+ Audiobook<br />
YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults<br />
BONUS FEATURE<strong>—</strong>Afterword read by the Author<br />
4 CDs • 978-1-4000-9496-7 • $38.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.9 • IL: 5-12 • LL: 750 • 4 hrs. 42 mins.<br />
THREE QUARTERS DEAD<br />
read by Ariadne Meyers<br />
When Kerry is chosen to join the coolest<br />
clique in school but her friends are killed in a car<br />
accident. Then Kerry receives a text from one of<br />
the girls: We’re all 3 here at my aunt’s in the city.<br />
Take the 3:50 train. B there.<br />
“Wrapping the story in the shrouds of a ghost<br />
story was a stroke of genius, making it a creepy<br />
tale <strong>middle</strong> school girls will die for...if they put<br />
down their cell phones long enough to read<br />
it.”<strong>—</strong>The Horn Book<br />
“Peck accentuates the scary dominance cliques<br />
wield in high school by imbuing them with<br />
supernatural power, easing what could have been<br />
a pointed message.”<strong>—</strong>Booklist<br />
4 CDs • 978-0-3077-4583-5 • $25.00<br />
Grade: RL: 4.0 • IL: 7-12 • LL: 550 • 4 hrs. 11 mins.<br />
Featured Author Collections<br />
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