It’s time to hit the books! The school bells are ringing again. While on the way to those checkered halls or waiting in a drop off line, listen to these audiobooks that are perfect for the whole family!

Mascot

Written by Traci Sorell and Charles Waters

Performed by Robb Moreira, Soneela Nankani, Karen Chilton, Christopher Gebauer, Ruffin Prentiss, Merissa Czyz, and Kyla Garcia

Published by Recorded Books

Audiobook Coming Soon!

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023

A National Public Radio “Books We Love” title of 2023

Written from several points of view, this novel in verse asks, “What happens when a mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone?” In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change. Now six middle schoolers get involved in the issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly. At the center of this story about human rights and Native sovereignty, there are six young people.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Enhanced Edition)

Written by Jeff Kinney

Performed by Ramon De Ocampo

Published by Recorded Books

Audiobook Coming Soon!

In Rodrick Rules, book 2 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, as Greg enters the new school year, he’s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event inparticular.Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t wantto talk about it. Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps.But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved.

Next in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess coming in October!

 

How Teens Win: The Student’s Guide to Accomplishing Big Goals

Written by Jon Acuff, McRae Acuff, and L.E Acuff

Performed by Jon Acuff, McRae Acuff, and L.E Acuff

Published by Recorded Books

Audiobook Coming Soon!

How Teens Win is your map to the very best treasure you’ll ever discover—yourself. Your potential. Your possibility. Your future. In this book we’ll share a fun, simple process for better understanding your potential so you can start to set goals and make plans that matter to you.

Listen to a sample

 

Victory, Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice

Written by Derrick Barnes and Tommie Smith

Performed by Korey Jackson

Published by Recorded Books

Winner of the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award

Finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor Book

In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. Cowritten with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes, Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.

Listen to a sample

 

A Sky Full of Song

Written by Susan Lynn Meyer

Performed by Emily Lawrence

Published by Recorded Books

2024 Sydney Taylor Book Award Middle Grade Honor Winner

An untold American frontier story …North Dakota, 1905 After fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire, eleven-year-old Shoshana and her family, Jewish immigrants, start a new life on the prairie. Shoshana takes fierce joy in the wild beauty of the plains and the thrill of forging a new, American identity. But it’s not as simple for her older sister, Libke, who misses their Ukrainian village and doesn’t learn English as quickly or make friends as easily. Desperate to fit in, Shoshana finds herself hiding her Jewish identity in the face of prejudice, just as Libke insists they preserve it.

Listen to a sample

 

Oliver’s Great Big Universe

Written by Jorge Cham

Performed by Jorge Cham

Published by Recorded Books

“Mind-expanding and hilarious!— I got smarter reading this!”- Jeff Kinney, author of the international bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Oliver has a lot going on starting his first year of middle school: new friends, new classes, new everything. But at least there’s one thing that still makes sense: SCIENCE! Determined to be an astrophysicist one day, Oliver explains everything he learns—like how the sun burps, how ghost particles fly through you, and the uncanny similarities between Mercury and cafeteria meatballs. (Also, there are time-bending black holes, exploding supernova stars, and aliens! Well, there could be aliens.)

Listen to a sample

 

 

Pretty Ugly

Written by David Sedaris and Ian Falconer

Performed by David Sedaris

Published by Recorded Books

Meet Anna Von Ogre, a delightful monstrosity. When Anna’s attempt to gross out the family backfires, she finds herself stuck with a face of such beauty that even the neighbors are repulsed. How the sickeningly adorable, rosy-cheeked little girl finds her inner ugly again is the subject of a hilarious fable for the ages.

Listen to a sample

 

 

Sheine Lende

Written by Darcie Little Badger

Performed by Kinsale Drake

Published by Recorded Books

Bookpage Most Anticipated YA of 2024

This prequel to Elatsoe, centered on Ellie’s grandmother, deepens and expands Darcie’s one-of-a-kind world and introduces us to another cast of characters that will wend their way around readers’ hearts.

Listen to a sample

Praise for Sheine Lende

 

Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice

Written by Anna Lapera

Performed by Allison Aguilar

Published by Recorded Books

Most Anticipated Middle Grade Reads of 2024: Teen Librarian Toolbox, School Library Journal

From debut author Anna Lapera comes Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice—a novel full of spunk and activist heart. Life sucks when you’re twelve. You’re not a little kid, but you’re also not an adult, and all the grown-ups in your life talk about your body the minute it starts getting a shape. And what sucks even more than being a Chinese-Filipino-American-Guatemalan who can’t speak any ancestral language well? When almost every other girl in school has already gotten her period except for you and your two besties.

Listen to a sample

 

 

Olivetti

Written by Allie Millington

Performed by Christopher Gebauer and Simon Vance

Published by Recorded Books

Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindles—the family he’s lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from twelve-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. Once a collector of words, now Olivetti only collects dust.

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How to Survive Middle School

Written by Donna Gephart

Performed by Kirby Heyborne

Published by Tantor Media

Fans of James Patterson’s Middle School series will root for David as he goes from feeling as insignificant as a hamster to becoming an Internet superstar. Perfect for back to school—no matter what that looks like!

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If Only I Had Told Her

Written by Laura Nowlin

Performed by Gina Rogers and Tyler Darby

Published by Tantor Media

Told through three different perspectives, If Only I Had Told Her is a love story brimming with truth, tragedy, and the unexpected bonds that heal us.

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Nightmare in the Backyard

Written by Jeff Strand

Performed by Stacy Gonzalez

Published by Tantor Media

This was not the Friday night they had planned . . .

Chloe, Avery, and Madison can’t wait to camp out in the backyard. It will be a night of telling scary stories and trading secrets while roasting marshmallows. Elijah, the kid next door, keeps trying to prank them, but it’s all in good fun. Who doesn’t like a little scare after the sun has set and the moonlight casts creepy shadows everywhere?

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Trans Children in Today’s School

Written by Aidan Key

Performed by Adi Cabral

Published by Highbridge Audio

The purpose of this book is to move beyond the unproductive and polarizing debates that occur over which bathroom/locker room transgender children should use or on which sports team they should participate. Aidan Key masterfully cuts through the misinformation and distractions to get at the only issues that truly matter—ensuring our children, all of our children—can count on a safe and welcoming learning environment.

Listen to a sample