Eoin Colfer.  Artemis Fowl:  The Opal Deception

After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis Fowl's mind was wiped of memories of the world below ground and any goodness grudgingly learned is now gone with the young genius reverting to his criminal lifestyle.  Read by Nathaniel Parker.

Michael Bond.  A Bear Called Paddington

A very small bear found by Mr. and Mrs. Brown at Paddington stations becomes one of the family.

Walter Dean Myers.  Blues Journey

Performed by Richard Allen.

Theodore Taylor.  The Cay

When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.  Read by Michael Boatman.

Michelle Paver.  Chronicles of Ancient  Darkness:  Wolf Brother

6,000 years in the past, twelve-year-old Tarak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father--to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit seeking a way to destroy a demon-possessed bear that threatens all the clans.  Read by Ian McKellen.

Shannon Hale.  The Goose Girl

Princess Anidori, on her way to marry a prince she has never met, is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.  Read by Cynthia Bishop and full cast.

Suzanne Collins.  Gregor the Overlander

When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.  Read by Paul Boehmer.

Megan McDonald.  Judy Moody Declares Independence

After learning about the American Revolution on a family trip to Boston, Massachusetts, Judy Moody makes her own Declaration of Independence and tries to prove that she is responsible enough to have more freedoms, such as a higher allowance and her own bathroom.  Read by Kate Forbes.

Joseph Delaney.  The Last Apprenctice:  Revenge of the Witch

Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary folk from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties."  Read by Christopher Evan Welch.

Julie Hearn.  The Minister's Daughter

In 1645 in England, the daughters of the town minister successfully accuse a local healer and her granddaughter of witchcraft to conceal an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but years later during the 1692 Salem trials their lie has unexpected repercussions.  Read by Heather O'Neill.

Mordicai Gerstein.  The Old Country

A grandmother tells her story of being tricked into exchanging her young body with that of a fox and trying to get it back while a war tore apart her home and her country.  Read by Tovah Feldshuh.

Michael Morpurgo.  Private Peaceful

When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself.   Read by Jeff Woodman.

Anthony Horowitz.  Raven's Gate

Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle.  Read by Simon Prebble.

Nathaniel Philbrick.  Revenge of the Whale:  The True Story of the

Whaleship Essex  Recounts the 1820 sinking of the whaleship "Essex" by an enraged sperm whale and how the crew of young men survived against impossible odds. Based on the author's adult book "In the Heart of the Sea."  Read by Taylor Mali.

Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.  Scat Like That!

Music and literacy go hand in hand. Rhythm, rhyme, meter, melody and wordplay are easily melded together in songs that are tons of fun, while almost secretly encouraging reading skills.

Tom Chapin.  Some Assembly Required

Songs from the Neighborhood

The music of Mr. Rogers performed by various performers.

Eva Ibbotson.  The Star of Kazan

After twelve-year-old Annika, a foundling living in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.  Read by Patricia Connolly.

Lynne Reid Banks.  Tiger, Tiger

Two tiger cub brothers are taken from the jungle to ancient Rome, where one becomes the pampered pet of Caesar's daughter and the other becomes a man-eating "entertainment act" at the Colosseum.  Read by Jan Francis.

M. I. McAllister.  Urchin of the Riding Stars

A group of animals, led by an orphaned squirrel, learns about friendship and loyalty when they band together to defend their island kingdom against evil forces.  Read by Andrew Sachs.