Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Anthologies & Short Stories

Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She lives with her whole family in a wonderful house. There is always somebody to laugh or play with. She loves to splash in the sea with her cousins and have parties with her aunties. But more than anything else in the world, Anna Hibiscus would love to see snow.

From the award-winning author of Hidden Talents, two remarkable short-story collections - Kidzilla and The Witch's Monkey - together for the first time. Plus several brand-new stories. Each hilarious and harrowing. A substitute teacher finds out she has some monsters for students. A group of kids attempts a levitation trick with hair-raising results. A neighborhood is so boring the grown-ups are turning into...well...you know. And dozens more.

People just can't live together without telling stories. We tell stories that are funny, ironic, insightful, or just simply pleasing to the tongue and ear. Stories just seem to happen. When a story happens with the force of universality, it finds its way into that pantheon of tales that is the common denominator of cultural exchange. Here are 33 such tales, collected from Brazil, China, Korea, Russia, Tibet, Africa, from America's native peoples, and other lands, and chosen for the universality…

Hey, did you hear the one about the man who dropped a lit cigarette into the toilet with some gasoline-soaked rags? Of course you did, it happened to your gym teacher's cousin. Or was it your cousin's gym teacher?

Muchas veces nos encontramos con reyes, magos, sabios y princesas, que son como arquetipos de partes de nosotros mismos que están dormidas esperando un despertar. Pero les falta luz, y las luces que nos ofrece el mundo exterio no les sirven. Cada uno de estos cuentos que te presentamos son como "luciérnagas" o shamirim, que representan esa chispa de luz que nos habita y que en nuestro ajetreo cotidiano parece que hayamos olvidado.

A town is overrun by road weenies - a.k.a. joggers - who never smile. A girl thinks she's too old for Halloween...until she finds a special pair of gloves. A boy takes a shortcut to an unexpected place. A mummy takes his revenge, one little piece at a time.... These 35 tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for listening alone in the dark.

A girl doesn't have a date for the school dance - until her dad makes one for her in his lab. "Lily - meet Stitchy." A family enjoys a nice Thanksgiving dinner - until they are interrupted by a torrent of turkeys out for revenge. A princess meets a pea-brained suitor. And the battle of two red hot pepper weenies ends in flames. Critically-acclaimed author and master of the macabre David Lubar returns from a journey into the darkest depths of his brain with 35 more warped and creepy tales.

A small boy finds himself shrinking in this oddly offbeat, surreal, and funny story. No one around seems to appreciate what Treehorn's going through - his parents are busy, his friends laugh at him, and he gets sent to the Principal's office for shrinking. Or was it shirking? Clearly, the adults in his life have no clue and can't help. In the end, Treehorn figures it out on his own, and all is well. At least until he turns green. A charming, imaginative classic that will appeal to any kid who feels they're not truly seen or heard by the grown-ups in their life. Works for adults, too.

Welcome to the Weenie Zone! A boy and his family narrowly escape a zombie apocalypse - or do they? A girl neglects her cat's litter box and finds herself in a heap of trouble. And a group of clicking, scrolling, tapping wireless weenies find themselves on the edge of disaster. Here are 33 hilarious and harrowing stories that will scare you, make you laugh, or see the world in a whole new way.

Stranded aliens seek out Earth's most intelligent species. (Hint: It's not us.) A bully discovers the meaning of "spatial displacement." Two girls find out why you should never annoy a witch. When a swarm of sneaking, slashing, scurrying ninja weenies invades their neighborhood, a boy and his best friend find a way to fight back. Here are 33 hilarious and harrowing stories that will scare you, make you laugh, or see the world in a whole new way. Find out where David got the idea for each story at the end of the book. Don't be a weenie. Listen to these stories. If you dare!

A boy discovers the answer to one of the great urban mysteries: Why are pigeons always pooping in parks? A second-grade class learns why they should always be nice to their math teacher. An ancient predator uses the internet to search out its prey. A young girl and her little brother escape a campfire weenie only to encounter something even more terrifying: a troop of Girl Scouts singing campfire songs.

Eve is haunted by her dead cats, Willie is not content to turn a blind eye to suffering, and Maria carries on lengthy conversations with a silent caller. Theirs are the odd, but strangely realistic stories you will find in this collection. Avi’s stories address real concerns in a way young people can relate to. Always entertaining, they broach difficult topics like divorce, teenage runaways, adolescent cruelty, and homelessness.

Welcome to Bald's farm. Well, perhaps it's not Bald's farm anymore. The old man has kicked the bucket, setting off a wave of conflict from the flooded farmhouse kitchen to the muddy pig pen to the tall wheat fields. In this darkly funny, slightly supernatural chain of tales, no creature is safe. Not Leonard Grey, a spider with sophisticated tastes. Not Esmeralda, a resentful one-legged pig. Not Tulip, a plant with a mean streak.

In books like Buried Onions and Boys at Work, Gary Soto displays a gift for revealing the tough, heart-breaking life of contemporary urban kids. In Petty Crimes, Soto offers 10 stories about the risky situations and dangerous little scams faced by young people growing up on the harsh streets of the city.

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.

Frances and Ginger Park, authors of both children's books and young adult novels, based this inspiring and deeply affecting tale on their own mother's childhood. Winner of the International Reading Association Award, My Freedom Trip features a courageous girl named Soo who makes a desperate bid for freedom by journeying from North Korea to South Korea. Her father awaits across the border, but to achieve her new life, Soo must leave her mother behind.