NEW -- CBA 8117 Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. In medieval Mongolia, Dashti and her mistress escape the tower where they were imprisoned after Lady Saren refused to marry her chosen suitor. Heading for the castle of the man Saren secretly loves, she demands that they switch identities, causing no end of complications. Middle and high school readers. 2007. Narrated by Cecelia LeBlanc.
NEW -- CBA 8141 A Barrel of Laughs A Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer. In this humorous story, the court magician thinks a quest will cure Prince Roger's unkinglike tendency to laugh constantly. Soon Roger's annoying people in faraway lands, and someone is unfortunately clever enough to escape the bounds of the story to seek revenge! Grade 4 and up. 1995. Narrated by Erik Schwab.
NEW -- CBA 8159 The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth by Eoin Colfer. The family is squeezed into a beach trailer for the summer when Marty forces Will to walk home from a local dance, planning to frighten him with the spooky voice of the murderous Captain Crow. However, it's Marty who's petrified by a different part of the local legend. #2 in Eoin Colfer Legends. Grade 2 and up. 2006. Narrated by Eric Scwab.
CBA 8114 The Mutiny on the Bounty by Patrick O'Brien. The epic journey of the ship Bounty in 1788 from England to Tahiti was filled with adventure and turmoil which ended in betrayal and murder. This picture book for younger readers brings to life the beauty, adventure, and hardships experienced by the crew. Grades 2-4. Narrated by Alita Kiaer.
CBA 8143 Lenny's Space by Kate Banks. Quirky and intelligent nine-year-old Lenny is fascinated by machines, snow, and the wide world, but he has no friends and he gets in trouble. When becomes friends with Van, a boy with leukemia and Muriel, the school counselor, he has more fun and more sadness. Grades 2-4. Narrated by Rick Sipe.
CBA 8134 The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine. In this funny story, Ellie's cat, Tuffy, thinks scaring other animals is his job and tries to defend his antics. Grades P-2. Narrated by Laurie Bialik.
CBA 8133 How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor. Georgina Hayes' family is living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless. Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. Grades 3-7. 2007. Narrated by Laurie Bialik.
CBA 8116 The Return of the Killer Cat by Anne Fine. Ellie's cat, Tuffy, always claims innocence, or at least justification, in all his actions. This time a vacation caretaker seems to think dried-out food is edible and a neighbor girl manages to waylay him for a humiliating game of dress-up. Sequel to The Diary of a Killer Cat (CBA 8134). Grades 2-4. 2009. Narrated by Laurie Bialik.
CBA 8104 Aunt Nancy and the Bothersome Visitors by Phyllis Root. Four humorous tall tales about the ingenious ways Aunt Nancy rids herself of pesky visitors - those who have overstayed their welcome, and even Mr. Death! Grade 2 and up. 2007. Narrated by Karen Smith-Fraser.
CBA 8102 Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esme Raji Codell. According to her mother, talented Hunky Dory is destined to be the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow. She, however, suspects that life as a fairy godmother would suit her better. Sasquatch nominee. Grades 4-7. 2005. Narrated by Lynn Rodgers.
CBA 8098 The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney. Middle-schooler Greg Heffley nimbly sidesteps his father's attempts to change Greg's wimpy ways until his father threatens to send him to military school. #3 in Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Grades 5-8. Narrated by Erik Schwab.
CBA 8092 Diamonds in the Shadows by Caroline Cooney. When he has to unexpectely share his home and his room with a church-sponsored family from war-torn Sierra Leone, teenager Jared becomes suspicious of their odd behavior. Some violence. Grade 5 and older readers. Narrated by Steve Hunziker.
CBA 8091 Masterpiece by Elise Broach. James is disappointed to receive a pen and ink set from his artistic father, but his friend Martin, a beetle, is thrilled to discover his own talent for miniatures that soon involves the two in a scheme to apprehend an art thief. Grades 3-6. Narrated by Laurie Bialik.
CBA 8089 Icefire by Chris D'Lacey. While attending a small town university, Chris boards with Liz and her daughter Lucy in a house full of clay dragons that come alive. His sense of reality continues to be challenged by events that include powerful beings, sentient polar bears, and something crucial to dragonkind long-hidden in the arctic. Sequel to "A Fire Within". Grades 4-7. Narrated by Susan Tucker.
CBA 8085 The Grape Thief by Kristine Franklin. 1925, Roslyn, Washington. Twelve-year-old Slava Petrovich is upset that he must soon leave school to help support the remaining members of his coal mining family. Joining other boys in stealing grapes from a yearly freight train, he and a friend decide that riding the rails back to California might offer them their best chance to find well-paid work. Grade 5 and up. 2003. Narrated by Marilyn Mason.
CBA 8077 Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. Left as a dragon sacrifice, orphaned Creel instead befriends dragonkind. As she pursues her dream of a dress shop in the King's Seat, a chance encounter with a spoiled foreign princess entangles her in royal intrigue. Grade 5 and older readers. Narrated by Susan Tucker.
CBA 8072 Big Plans by Bob Shea. As a boy sits in the corner at school, he imagines how things will be when he is the one in charge. Grades P-2. Narrated by Rachel Glass.
CBA 8068 A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook by Virginia Wright-Frierson. Presented in the form of a scrapbook, this book describes the author's exploration of a temperate rain forest in North America, located in Washington State, and the plants and animals she found there. Grades K-3. Narrated by Lynn Rodgers.
CBA 8064 Treasure Mountain by Evelyn Sibley Lampman. In the mid-20th century, Hoxie and Irene leave the Indian school in Chemewa, Oregon, for a summer to visit an aunt they've never met. They are faced with poverty conditions and their aunt's age and health issues, but also find time to search for a treasure that was supposedly buried on the mountain long ago. Grades 4-7. Narrated by Karen Smith-Fraser.
CBA 8057 Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins. Everyone in the Underland has been reluctant to reveal the fifth prophecy to Gregor because it seems to forecast his death. However, he is anxious to move forward so that he can get his mother and sister safely home. #5 Underland Chronicles. Grades 4-7. 2007. Narrated by Zee LeRoy.
CBA 8052 New Found Land: A Novel by Allan Wolf. Thomas Jefferson, members of the Corps of Discovery, their guide Sacagawea, and Captain Lewis's Newfoundland dog, all tell of the historic exploratory expedition to seek a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Junior High and older readers. Narrated by Floyd Hutton.
CBA 8050 Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee. Anu is devastated when, on one of their birdwatching hikes, his beloved grandfather has a heart attack and dies. Anu tries everything he can think of to bring his grandfather back, or keep his spirit nearby, including trying to practice the rigors of a sadhu (holy man in India). Sasquatch nominee. Grades 4-7. Narrated by Sneha Mathan.
CBA 8045 My Name is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods. Sally Harrison and her family are slaves on a Georgia plantation. When they learn the children are to be sent to the Master's brother's plantation, the family decides to attempt an escape to Florida where they have heard the Seminole Indians will shelter them. Young Readers' Choice nominee. Grades 4-7. Narrated by Marilyn Mason-Plunkett.
CBA 8020 Stumptown Kid by Carol Gorman and Ron J. Findley. In 1952, a young black former ballplayer arrives in Charlie's all-white Iowa town and offers to help kids who didn't make the local Wildcats form their own team, but racial issues and the ballplayer's past give rise to emotional stress and even physical peril. Sasquatch nominee. Grades 4-7 and older readers. 2005. Narrated by Cynthia Ellis.
CBA 8007 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney. Greg's mom is making him keep a journal (not a diary!) where he records the trials of being an undersize middle-schooler among enormous guys who need to shave twice a day! He struggles to survive and to maintain his friendship with Rowley, who is becoming more popular. #1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Grades 3-6. 2007. Narrated by Erik Schwab.
CBA 7983 Hannah West in Deep Water by Linda Johns. Housesitting on a Seattle houseboat becomes more exciting when the dock becomes a film location, but Hannah is more interested in learning what is being dumped in the bay and by whom. Grades 4-7. Narrated by Ann Lewis.
CBA 7976 Airball: My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader. Uncoordinated Kansas seventh-grader Kirby Nickel thinks he knows who his father is. His plan to meet him involves joining the basketball team, but he's sure he can manage to injure himself to avoid much humiliation - but then the coach decides to have the team play in their underwear! Grade 5-8 and older readers. Nominee for Sasquatch award. 2005. Grades 4-7. Narrated by Steve Hunziker.