Showing results by narrator "Kevin R. Free" in All Categories

In this second book of The Cruisers series, the term “gifted and talented” takes on a whole new meaning for Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi - a group of misfits who attend Da Vinci Academy, a school in Harlem for only the brightest kids. Their friend Sidney Aronofsky is considered one of the best chess players in the city. When Sidney is arrested for trying to buy drugs, it comes as a shock to those who know him, especially the Cruisers. Sidney loves chess, but the pressure never lets up.

Convinced of his own moral and intellectual superiority, the nameless protagonist of this debut novel is also paralyzed by self-consciousness. Yet, inspired by Stephen King’s On Writing, he decides to dedicate four hours a day to work on his own novel over the course of one summer. Only, he must also balance his creative goals with a part-time government job and looking after his girlfriend’s possibly brain-damaged Pomeranian dog.

The Cruisers are in trouble - again. The freedom of expression they've enjoyed by publishing their own school newspaper, The Cruiser, has spread all the way to England, where kids from a school "across the pond" are now contributors to their own school's most talked-about publication. When photos start to go alongside the articles written by kids, things get suspicious. Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, Bobbi - and a bunch of students from Harlem’s Da Vinci Academy and London’s Phoenix School - come to learn that words and pictures in a newspaper don’t always tell the whole story.

Calvin knows how to pass for white. He's done it plenty of times before. For his friends in Chicago, when they wanted food but weren't allowed in a restaurant. For work, when he and his dad would travel for the Green Book. This is different. After a tragedy in Chicago forces the family to flee, they resettle in an idyllic all-white suburban town in search of a better life. Calvin's father wants everyone to embrace their new white lifestyles, but it's easier said than done.

Valentine's Day is approaching, and Miles Lewis doesn't really like all the mush that comes with it. He is excited about the candy experiments they're doing in science class, though. And when his teacher asks for adult volunteers to help out, Miles and his friend Jada share that they're both planning on inviting their grandparents. That's when they realize that Miles's Nana and Jada's Pop Pop have a lot in common—could they be a perfect match?

The boxmates from the B.E.S.T. Academy are lost at sea and their best friend, Grayson Bix, is missing. Their hoverpod is busted, their stomachs are empty, and their hopes are crushed. When a mysterious vessel approaches, Ace, Leo, and Jayla are certain they'll be carted back to the Tower of Power, with their punishments for escaping awaiting. But a twist: The crew is rescued and introduced to a vibrant and thriving underwater world that is off the grid and out of Bixonics's eye...and one step closer to finding Grayson.

George Scott peered at the nearby Union fortress. Something miraculous was taking place! Three enslaved men had entered but had not been cast out. To Scott, the fortress must be a sanctuary. A place where the three would be safe from capture and harm—never to return to the Confederate South. But exactly why were they granted refuge?

The Intersection of Peachtree Street, historically the residential and commercial street of Atlanta’s white elite, and Sweet Auburn Avenue, the spiritual main street of Atlanta’s community, mirrors the often separate but mutually dependent worlds of whites and blacks in this Southern city. In Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, Gary M. Pomerantz traces five generations of two families—the Allens, descended from slave owners, and the Dobbses, from slaves. These families produced the two most influential mayors of the modern South, Ivan Allen Jr., and Maynard Jackson Jr.

Marshall Field Finney was named after a department store and dropped like a hot potato when his mother suddenly packed up and left. Now Marshall lives with his hard-drinking father in a crackerbox house and rides a yellow bus through beautiful St. Louis County to his mostly white suburban school. Caught at a crossroads, Marshall is desperately searching for something to believe in. At stake is only the rest of his life.

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.

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.

Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar as he honors sisters everywhere! With sentiments, this heartfelt audiobook will show your sister just how much you care.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar knows there's nothing like the bond you share with a brother. This celebratory audiobook is the perfect way to show how much you appreciate him, so give the gift of love with sweet sentiments from Eric Carle.

Mildred Jeter Loving and Richard Perry Loving wanted to live out their married life near family in Virginia, but the state refused to let them. The reason: Richard was white and Mildred was black. After being arrested and charged with a crime, the Lovings were forced to leave their home—until they turned to the legal system. In one of the country’s landmark legal battles, Loving v. Virginia, the Lovings secured their future when the Supreme Court struck down all state laws prohibiting mixed marriage.

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.

Some people think hats are fancy things you can buy at a dressy store, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this audiobook, acorns and raspberries are snug hats for your fingers, and an empty pudding cup is a good hat for a stuffed bear. Pajama pants make dangly hats, books can be dramatic hats, and bubbles make very fine hats as well (if temporary). Listeners will be delighted to discover that anything can be a hat if you believe it is. Hats are everywhere you look!

When the boxmates' final adventure takes them from the iconic Tower of Power campus and deepscraper Resistance base to the larger-than-life Bixonic's Co. international space station, their augs are put to the test against a global corporate superpower. Ace, Jayla, Gray, and Leo each face individual decisions that may chart the course of the rest of their lives. Will Ace decide he wants to fly or embrace his emotional genius? Can Leo learn to trust the feelings he can't predict? How will Gray reconcile his identity? Will Jayla use her tech wizardry to save them all?

Lamb's family strives to better their lives in Jackson, Mississippi, in the late 1930s. Lamb’s mother is a hard-working, creative seamstress who cannot reveal she's a lesbian. Lamb’s brother has a brilliant mind and has even earned a college scholarship for a black college up north—if only he could curb his impulsiveness and rebellious nature.

Poetry. Literary nonfiction. Fiction. Drama. LGBTQIA studies. Women's studies. Compiled in one book for the first time, featuring both new and out-of-print pieces, the contents of The Judy Grahn Reader span four decades of work by the prominent writer and activist. This volume contains writing from every phase of Judy Grahn's career, including poems from all of her major poetry collections, a number of her groundbreaking essays, as well as selected fiction and the full-length play The Queen of Swords.

The annual Fun Run is coming up at Brookside Elementary! The students will all run laps around the carpool lane, and Miles Lewis wants to be one of the top five runners. Even though he zooms through sprints, he runs out of gas for long distance, so he creates a nutrition and exercise regimen to boost his endurance. But on the big day, he witnesses one kid struggling to keep going. Should Miles keep pressing for his personal best, or should he lend support to help a friend? In the end, Miles must decide what winning really means to him.