Short Family

Ranging from the hilarious to the horrifying, this acclaimed collection of nine short stories - five of them read by full casts - showcases the remarkable variety of Bruce Coville's work. Listeners will meet a ghost who haunts a kitchen after a tragic baking accident, visit the goblin world with an unconventional princess, and fly with Justin Jones to an enchanted island that requires a heartbreaking decision. A rich, varied, and dazzling set of listening experiences!

An eclectic selection of short stories.

Sean Ferro is my addiction. I can't tell him no, no matter what he asks for, and I know there are so many dark questions behind those blue eyes, so many things he wants me to do with him. When I watch him go down on one knee, with his sexy body covered in sand, and hold up a glittering ring, I can barely stand. It looks like he's going to propose, and I know exactly what I'm going to say.

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1883 - 1945) was a Russian and Soviet writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels. The experimental Russian film Papa, Umer Ded Moroz (1991) was loosely based on this short story, "The Vampire's Family".

„Im Kreis der Familie“ ist eine Weihnachtsgeschichte von Johannes Epple die auf Basis eines Gesprächs mit Magdalena Blum beruht. – Die zahlreiche erschienenen Familienmitglieder saßen im Kreis. Körbe, gefüllt mit Weihnachtsgebäck. In der Mitte stand ein mobiles Krankenbett mit dem Großvater darin.

Two years after the death of their maverick scientist father, two brothers and their obsessive mother embark on a personal odyssey to lay his spirit to rest. An odyssey where science borders on madness, where guilt and loss drives them farther apart, and where each reaches into the boundless depths of space with only one question on their mind.

On Ash Wednesday in 1908, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter arrives at his children’s school, where he is the lone custodian. But soon after lessons start, a fast-moving fire breaks out—its cause is unknown, but its effects are horrifying. Although Fritz is soon cleared of any responsibility for the catastrophe, the community continues to suspect him, supremely testing Fritz and his family.

There are some mistakes that are too big to fix. I'll never recover from this one. Damn it, I called Bryan an addict and treated him worse. Maybe it was wrong for him to approach me the way he did. Maybe it wasn't right for Bryan to just take what he wanted, consequences be damned. I can't blame him, though - not now that I know the truth.

Александр Борисович Раскин (1914–1971) - писатель, сатирик, сценарист. Его забавные истории в очередной раз убеждают: замечательно, что взрослыми не рождаются, что все мы тоже были когда-то маленькими и столь похожими на своих детей. Решали те же проблемы, совершали такие же ошибки и шалости.

Cosy up for Christmas with this festive story, starring everyone's favourite Victorian foundling, Hetty Feather!An unexpected gift leads to trouble for Hetty on Christmas Day at the Foundling Hospital, and the dreaded Matron Bottomly is delighted to have an excuse to exclude Hetty from the festive celebrations. Poor Hetty is distraught - but just when it seems that all is lost, a dear friend arrives to whisk her away for a Christmas unlike any other....

In her people-smart way, Kimberly Willis Holt introduces us to a Louisiana family: touching, lyrical, and always intriguing, their stories reveal the powerful connections between four generations. The journey begins in 1939 with Rose, who moves with her mother and siblings from rural Texas to live with their estranged grandfather in the Louisiana bayou.

Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the importance of honest hard work, of caring for the less fortunate, and of having the courage to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. In these nine stories, Aranka Siegal paints a tender portrait of the love between a grandmother and granddaughter, inspired by her own experiences with her grandmother.

As Jason enters fourth grade, he begins to think girls are okay, until he gets caught in a tricky rating game. Meanwhile Edward, now in first grade, is trying hard to keep his eyes open when he swings at the softball, to laugh instead of cry in the spooky neighborhood haunted house, and to keep cool when his pet rat, Spike, has a litter of tiny pink babies.

A high-security luxury housing estate in the Thames Valley is the setting for a disturbing outbreak of violence in this compelling novella from the acclaimed author of ‘Cocaine Nights’ and ‘Super-Cannes’. Pangbourne Village housing estate is exclusive, expensive and protected from the outside world by the very latest in security systems. It should be the perfect place to bring up a child.

"Школьные истории" - это весёлый сборник о школе и о школьниках, о дружбе и взаимовыручке, об учителях и учениках, об интересном времени в жизни, когда всё зависит от тебя – учись и будь самым умным! Но и улыбаться не забывай, читая смешные рассказы В. Драгунского, Л. Каминского, В. Осеевой, М. Дружининой и других авторов, которые тоже ходили в школу и готовы поделиться своим опытом! Для младшего школьного возраста.

A second marriage after the first ended in tragedy is bound to have its challenges. In the case of DI Peter Johns, his new wife, "Our Bernie", is very different from Angie, the love of his life. This short story plots the path of their friendship from first encounters to final commitment.

En los últimos años la suerte ha favorecido a Georg Bendeman, por el contrario, su buen amigo afincado en Rusia está en plena crisis existencial. Georg ha ido ocultando sus éxitos a su amigo por miedo a que éste pueda sentirse acomplejado, pero un día decide que lo más justo es contarle la verdad. Antes de escribirle, va a pedir consejo a su padre quien aprovechará la ocasión para expresar su descontento y recriminarle por su actitud.

An exclusive short story for World Book Day from one of our best-selling authors.... Sometimes all we need is a relaxing holiday in the sun. For Anthony and Carole, a week in a lovely Greek hotel has helped them mend the cracks in their marriage. For widowed Jessica, it’s the longest she’s ever gone without visiting her beloved husband’s grave. However when the flight doesn’t go according to plan, they are each forced to face up to the very things they have been avoiding for so long.

Durante el saqueo de Cádiz por los ingleses, Clotaldo caballero y soldado británico rapta a una niña de siete años Isabel y se la lleva de vuelta a su casa a Londres donde la cría como si fuera su propia hija.

I nomi fanno il mondo' è un'opera concepita per l'ascolto in audiolibro. Piccoli romanzi in venti righe, o poco più...