SPRING 2018 AUDIOBOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE OFFER PORTALS to new worlds with works of fantasy from Tomi Adeyemi and Sarah Rees Brennan and new perspectives on this one with nonfiction addressing a diverse range of topics, such as the Apollo 8 mission, resistance and activism, and the Vietnam War. Remarkable heroines include a wannabe poet, an unlikely spy, and a teen detective. Julie Murphy follows Dumplin’ with Puddin’, and Melissa de la Cruz returns to the world of Alex & Eliza in Love & War. Anticipated debuts include a Gothic romance and a novel in verse, and early elementary listeners can look forward to Junot Díaz’s Islandborn, a biography in verse of Harriet Tubman, and a sweet story about a family gathering.

Young Listeners

Sweet stories and enticing nonfiction that support the Common Core.

Brown-Wood, JaNay. Grandma’s Tiny House. Live Oak. ISBN NA. May 2018. CD w hardcover. Reader TBA.

PreS-Gr 2 –A rhyming, counting story of a large, impromptu gathering that celebrates the joys of family, friends, and food.

Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Before She Was Harriet. Live Oak. ISBN NA. Jun. 2018. CD w hardcover. Reader TBA.

Gr 3-6 –This biography in verse describes the life of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who freed herself from slavery, worked as a Union spy, and led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Díaz, Junot. Islandborn. Listening Library. ISBN 9780525530589. Mar. 2018. Read by the author.

K-Gr 3 –When Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, Lola draws on the memories of her family and friends.

Doerrfeld, Cori. The Rabbit Listened. Recorded Bks. ISBN 9781501990854. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

PreS-Gr 2 –In this exploration of grief, different animals try to help Taylor when something bad happens, but nothing works until the rabbit shows up and just listens.

Meloy, Colin. The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger. HarperAudio. ISBN 9780062842053. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

K-Gr 4 –Meloy pays tribute to the folk singer, who wanted to change the world with his music about social justice and compassion.

Verde, Susan. The Water Princess. Weston Woods. ISBN 9781338243536. Feb. 2018. Read by Yetide Bodaki.

K-Gr 3 –Gie Gie gets up before sunrise every day and walks for miles to the well for water. As she walks, she dreams about a future when her village has cool, clean water.

Fantasy

Rich settings and elaborate worldbuilding to excite speculative fiction fans.

Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427295514. Mar. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –In this trilogy launch set in West Africa, Zélie Adebola has one chance to bring back magic to Orïsha.

Balliett, Blue. Out of the Wild Night. Scholastic Audio. ISBN 9781338227215. Mar. 2018. Read by Alison Edwards.

Gr 4-7 –Ghosts seek help from children in this Nantucket-set story.

Blackburne, Livia. Rosemarked. Recorded Bks. ISBN 9781501967917. Feb. 2018. Read by Vikas Adam & Angela Lin.

Gr 9 Up –When healer Zivah and soldier Dineas undertake a high-stakes mission, they find common ground—and love.

Brennan, Sarah Rees. In Other Lands. Tantor. ISBN 9781977370914. Apr. 2018. Read by Matthew Lloyd Davies.

Gr 9 Up –Grumpy, bisexual Elliott ­decides to put his manipulative tendencies to work improving the state of the magical land he finds over a wall in ­rural England.

DasGupta, Sayantani. The Serpent’s Secret. (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond: Bk. 1). Scholastic Audio. ISBN 9781338225747. Feb. 2018. Read by Soneela Nankani.

Gr 5-7 –When her parents disappear and a rakkhosh demon arrives in her kitchen, it’s up to 12-year-old Kiranmala to save New Jersey.

Day, Anna. The Fandom. Scholastic Audio. ISBN 9781338268737. Apr. 2018. Read by Fiona Hardingham.

Gr 9 Up –When megafan Violet and her friends are transported into the world of The Gallows Dance, she has to take the heroine’s place.

Eggers, Dave. The Lifters. Listening Library. ISBN 9781524782856. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 4-6 –In Eggers’s middle grade debut, 12-year-old Gran and Catalina become caught up in the battle between the monstrous Hollows and the tunnel-dwelling Lifters who fight them.

Ireland, Justine. Dread Nation. HarperAudio. ISBN 9781538497821. Apr. 2018. Read by Bahni Turpin.

Gr 9 Up –In an America where zombies have derailed the War Between the States, Jane McKeene is caught in the middle of a conspiracy.

Seconds & Sequels

Fantastic follow ups, some of which stand alone, while others enrich a series.

Albertalli, Becky. Leah on the Offbeat. HarperAudio. ISBN 9781538499290. Apr. 2018. Read by Shannon Purser.

Gr 9 Up –In this sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Simon’s BFF Leah must cope with secrets, changing friendships, and first love.

de la Cruz, Melissa. Love & War. Listening Library. ISBN 9780525625636. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –1780. Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler are learning firsthand about some of the challenges of married life, including divided attention, lingering jealousies, and family drama.

Garber, Stephanie. Legendary. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427293381. May 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –In Garber’s follow up to Caraval, Scarlett’s younger sister, Tella, travels to the empire’s capital to fulfill a mysterious bargain.

Grimes, Nikki. Between the Lines. Recorded Bks. ISBN 9781501962622. Feb. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –The companion to Grimes’s Bronx Masquerade features Darrian, who signs up for a poetry class, hoping it’ll help him reach his goal of being a journalist.

Murphy, Julie. Puddin’. HarperAudio.

ISBN 9781538500330. May 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –Murphy’s sequel to Dumplin’ follows wannabe newscaster Millie Michalchuk and dance captain Callie Reyes in a story about unexpected friendship.

Thomas, Angie. On the Come Up. HarperAudio. ISBN 9781538496831. May 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –Thomas’s follow up to The Hate U Give features a teen girl who must turn dreams of a rap career into reality when her family home burns down.

Golden Girls

Gals with gumption in historical, realistic, and thrilling fiction.

Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet X. HarperAudio. ISBN 9781538500224. Mar. 2018. Read by the author.

Gr 9 Up –In this novel in verse, Xiomara Batista desperately wants to join her school’s slam poetry club, but her desire to perform conflicts with her family’s expectations.

Blake, Ashley Herring. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781549114908. Mar. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 4-6 –After a tornado destroys her home, the title character’s missing drawings of girls holding hands reappear in her locker with notes encouraging her to be true to her feelings.

Brashear, Amy. No Saints in Kansas. Recorded Bks. ISBN 9781501960802. Feb. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –In this reimagining of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Carly Fleming is new to Holcomb, KS, and friendly with Nancy Clutter. When the Clutter family is murdered, Carly investigates.

Callender, Kheryn. Hurricane Child. Scholastic Audio. ISBN 9781338129304. Mar. 2018. Read by Krystel Roche.

Gr 3-7 –Caroline Murphy and a new student, Kalinda, set out in a hurricane to find Caroline’s missing mother—while Caroline wrestles with her developing feelings for Kalinda.

Johnson, Varian. The Parker Inheritance. Scholastic Audio. ISBN 9781338227321. Mar. 2018. Read by Cherise Boothe.

Gr 4-6– Candice finds a letter addressed to her grandmother, who left Lambert, SC, in shame. The letter describes a decades-old injustice, a mystery, and a fortune awaiting whoever solves the puzzle.

Killeen , Matt. Orphan Monster Spy. Listening Library. ISBN 9780525589778. Mar. 2018. Read by Saskia Maarleveld.

Gr 9 Up –After her mother is shot, 15-year-old blonde, blue-eyed, Jewish Sarah is recruited by a spy. He asks her to infiltrate an elite boarding school, befriend the daughter of a Nazi scientist, and steal plans for a bomb.

Debut YA

New voices in fiction for discerning teen listeners.

Black, Teri Bailey. Girl at the Grave. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427298539. Aug. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –In 1850s New England, after her mother is hanged for murder, a girl sets out to clear her family’s name.

Coles, Jay. Tyler Johnson Was Here. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781549167980. Mar. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –After Marvin Johnson’s twin, Tyler, is found dead, a video leaked online provides evidence that Tyler was shot and killed by a police officer.

Pan, Emily X.R. The Astonishing Color of After. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781549167928. Mar. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain that her mother turned into a bird when she died by suicide. So when Leigh travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time, she is determined to find her mother, the bird.

Young, Adrienne. Sky in the Deep. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427296993. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –After Eelyn sees the brother she believed was dead fighting for an enemy clan, she and her brother’s friend Fiske must work to unite their clans against a common foe.

Nonfiction

Listen and learn history, biography, and science.

Favreau, Marc. Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781478977100. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 3-7 –An exploration of the Great ­Depression, from the market collapse to the personal accounts of those affected, for a middle grade audience.

Federle, Tim & Maureen Johnson, eds. How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427296290. May 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 7 Up –A collection of essays about activism and hope by contributors including Alex Gino, Libba Bray, and Sabaa Tahir.

Kluger, Jeffrey & Ruby Shamir. To the Moon! The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship. Listening Library. ISBN 9780525531371. Mar. 2018. Read by Jeffrey Kluger.

Gr 5-8 –This is the story of astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill ­Anders; the rush to get Apollo 8 ready; and their journey to the moon.

Partridge, Elizabeth. Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam. Listening Library. ISBN 9780525531470. Apr. 2018. Reader TBA.

Gr 9 Up –The personal stories of six American soldiers, one American nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee add texture and detail to the complicated history of the Vietnam War.