Showing results by narrator "Kevin Free" in All Categories

Welcome winter with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and his friends in this sensory exploration of the season. Discover the very best of this time of year: snowy days full of play, the sounds of birds chirping atop a snowman, the smell of cookies fresh from the oven, and so much more!

This revelatory and gripping nonfiction middle grade book explores a deeply troubling chapter in American history that is still playing out today: the strange case of Prince Edward County, Virginia, the only place in the United States to ever formally deny its citizens a public education, and the students who pushed back.

Since its publication in 1982, The Color Purple has resonated with generations of readers across the globe. The novel catapulted author Alice Walker to international fame, brought Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg acting acclaim in the 1985 film adaptation, and inspired theatrical productions around the world, including the Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. This cultural touchstone—which so profoundly touches on race, family, survival, spirituality, sisterhood, and love in all forms—continues to beget new iterations, most recently a feature film.

Tall, bearded, and rock-star handsome, he is only looking to order two coffees to go when he walks into Peace Café. Instead, Tucker leaves with a pocket-rocket spitfire in his arms, returning her safely to Temecula wine country after their meet-cute takes a turn for the worse. Ophelia doesn’t date. She’s in a committed relationship, working on herself and her soon-to-be-open tiny-house Airbnb business, the Fainting Goat Ranch. Tucker wants a date.

It's Saturday night in Santa Barbara and it seems like everyone is headed to the same destination. The reason is simple: To celebrate the end of school. But for eleven different people the motives are bit more complicated - to be noticed, to hook up, to make friends, to numb the pain, to get over an ex, to say goodbye. As each character takes a turn and tells his/her story, the eleven individuals intersect, reconnect, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.

This Old West adventure from genre stalwart Mike Kearby comes heartily recommended by Historical Novels Review. Free Anderson's days as a soldier may be over, but his war is just beginning. An enemy stalks him, waiting to exact vengeance. Now framed and set to hang in Texas, Free is aided by a friend from his army days. Together again on the trail of Free's accuser, the two men encounter such towering figures as Wild Bill Hickok and General Custer.

A young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness. In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family, menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night, a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort and cruelty.

King, Kayla, and Grandma find a dog who has lost his human family. What does Kayla know? This dog doesn't have a collar or any tags. He can sit, lie down, and shake hands. No one around here knows who he is. What does King know? The dog's family is staying at a campground. Can they figure out who he is and where his family is?

At Jonesville High, casual misogyny runs rampant, slut-shaming is a given, and school athletes are glorified above all else. Best friends Suze, Nikki, Ani, and Lydia swear they'll always have each other's backs against predatory guys - so when Suze suddenly starts dating wrestling star and toxic douchebag Tarkin Shaw, it's a big betrayal. Turns out, it's not a relationship - it's blackmail. At first, Suze feels like she has no choice but to go along with it, but when Tarkin starts demanding more, she enlists the help of intelligent misfits DeShawn and Marcus....

Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar for a celebration of all that is festive during the holiday season. This wonderful story of Christmas delights—from presents to snowflakes and even Santa Claus—with The Very Hungry Caterpillar making an appearance alongside each one. This sweet little audiobook is the perfect Christmas present for readers young and old.

Danny Taggart is the biggest badass of all the Gemini Men. And there's only one thing a woman can do with a man this hot, hard, and ready for action... He's the oldest of the three Taggart brothers. And the boldest. Tall, dark and rippling with muscle, Danny Taggart takes no prisoners. But when his latest case puts him up close and personal with the woman who once left him raw and aching, he's shell-shocked.

Issa Ibrahim's memoir details in searing prose his development of severe mental illness leading to a horrific family tragedy, his acquittal by reason of insanity, and his subsequent commission to a mental hospital for nearly 20 years. Written with great verve and immediacy, The Hospital Always Wins paints a detailed picture of a broken mental-health system but also reveals the power of art, when nurtured in a benign environment, to provide a resource for recovery.

In Mandela, former foreign correspondent Bob Crew demystifies the icon and his legacy. After over a decade of travels in South Africa, Crew seeks truth in the unexpected details of the lives of Mandela and current South African president Jacob Zuma, comparing them to other world icons in order to bring a new understanding of their legacies to Western listeners.

Emily Arnold McCully won a Caldecott Medal for her book Mirette on the High Wire. In Wonder Horse, McCully crafts a charming tale based on the true story of Doc Key and his remarkable horse, Jim. When Doc Key decides to breed a racehorse, what he gets is a foal with weak legs yet an unusually sharp mind. So Doc decides to teach his horse some new tricks - including reading and writing.

A Spur Award finalist and acclaimed Texas historian, Mike Kearby packs his Westerns with vivid details and characters straight off the plains. After outlaw Tig Hardy kidnaps his wife Clara, ex-soldier Free Anderson feels his blood boiling. Teaming with Parks Scott, Free embarks on a stirring quest for vengeance, with plenty of iron on his hip and time running out.

It’s the first day of school for Zoe, a young girl with hearing loss who dreams of playing on her school’s soccer team. But, self-conscious of her hearing aids, Zoe is too nervous to try out. With the help of and perspectives from new friends, what begins as a bumpy, anxiety-filled start for Zoe, soon transitions into an eye-opening experience about what it means to be different—and what it means to be extraordinary. I Am Extraordinary teaches kids how to look inside themselves to find self-acceptance and the confidence to achieve any goal.

After exiting the Trials, Dabu and Uhane set off in pursuit of Phoenix. However, after encountering a magically charged sandstorm, the pair find themselves far from their intended course. Running short on food and water, they have no choice but to try to find civilization. Instead, they find deserted villages, rumors of a terrifying beast that stalks the night, and no way to turn back. All they can do is forge on, both to find supplies and to discover what sort of creature can send entire villages fleeing for their lives.

At the start of 2020, in what felt already like an age of disorder, our world faced one of the gravest global challenges in a century. Yet in the midst of this crisis, billions of human beings responded with love. Tim Shriver saw an opportunity for those hungry for community to answer a call to heal, a call to hope, a call to unite. He asked monks and nuns, artists and activists, nurses and doctors, ex-presidents and ex-cons to come together to share messages of inspiration, transformation, and love. This book captures the spirit of that 24-hour event.

Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered Africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An Ex-Mas Feast" needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school. Even when his twelve-year-old sister takes to the streets to raise these meager funds, his dream can't be granted.

Celebrate Grandmothers everywhere with help from The Very Hungry Caterpillar in this lively audiobook starring Eric Carle’s classic storybook character! Say “I Love You” to Grandma with this audiobook, a perfect listen for Grandma’s birthday, baby announcements, National Grandparent’s Day, and more!