Showing results by narrator "Christopher Gebauer" in All Categories

Frank the cat has it good: Tons of toys, unlimited Whiskies™ and space and quiet to stretch and nap and think and write. Then his people bring home a box. A box with something unexpected inside. A puppy. A puppy who doesn’t know the rules of naps. A puppy who slobbers and tackles and barks. This won’t do. Frank will just have to find a better home. Should be easy, right?

Nine-year-old Willis Wilbur is beyond excited to go back to school. Now that he has discovered his destiny as a life coach, he's looking forward to signing on more clients (preferably human ones, not just guinea pigs).

HIS NAME IS REX DEXTER. Yes. THAT Rex Dexter. The one cursed with the ability to see and talk to dead animals. The solver of atrocities against the four-footed. The savior of the flipper-finned. Save your standing ovation for later, because Rex has bigger things on his mind.

Welcome to Barksdale, where all the dogs strive for perfection. Every shopkeeper claims to be the “best groomer” or sell the “best biscuits.” And at Barksdale Academy, the pressure is on for one pup to be named Best in Show. Duke’s cousin Coco, a French bulldog from Paris, is visiting for the K-2 loyalty exam. During this exam, the Underdogs and their classmates will participate in a field day event against a rival school.

If Austin picked a color to describe his life, it would be tumbleweed brown. Austin doesn't like standing out. He’s always the new kid, and there's no hiding his size. Plus, Austin has a secret: He struggles to read. Then Austin meets Bertie, who is razzmatazz. Everything about Bertie is bursting! But the best part of his newest school is the Safety Squad, with their laser lemon vests.

A 13-year-old girl seeks answers about her past in the fourth dimension - and beyond - in this think-outside-the-box adventure. What do you do when it turns out your whole life has been a lie? Jadie Martin was always told she was abandoned by her parents. Creatures from the fourth dimension rescued her and placed her with a loving adoptive family. Now, Jadie acts as an agent for the beings, also known as Seers. She uses the fourth dimension as a shortcut to travel anywhere on Earth, performing missions calculated to guide the world toward a brighter future.

Master of the macabre David Lubar is back with Check Out the Library Weenies, his ninth collection of Weenies Stories. Here are 30 more scary stories for the middle grade audience - perfect for both avid and reluctant young listeners who like a few chills and a lot of laughs. Don't be a weenie. Listen to these stories. If you dare!

Quinn should have won. The battle was supposed to be over. Instead, the stars are gone, the world is in shambles, and the consequences of his actions are rapidly outweighing his victory. The warlocks of Grevelt must travel to the lands ravaged by monsters in order to fix everything once and for all.

Twelve-year-old Epic McDade isn't ready for middle school. He'd rather help out at his family's dog-friendly bed-and-breakfast all summer or return to his alternative elementary school in the fall, where learning feels safe. But change comes in all shapes and fur colors. When Carmelito, California, is named America's number one dog-friendly town, all the top dogs and their owners pour into Epic's sleepy seaside neighborhood for a week of celebration.

Ever since he was five years old and his father witnessed a terrible crime, Igor and his family have been on the run from the Lizard Man, a foreboding figure bent on revenge. They've lived in so many places, with so many identities, that Igor can't even remember his real name. As the months go by, Igor begins to wonder if the Lizard Man exists only in his father's frightened mind. No one but his dad has ever seen him. But then Igor's little sister tells him she thinks she saw the Lizard Man lurking around the house....

Welcome to the town of Barksdale, where the canine residents strive for perfection. Every shopkeeper claims to be the "best groomer" or sell the "best biscuits". And at Barksdale Academy, the pressure is on every year for one pup to be named Best in Show. Nova, Duke, Harley, and Peanut have never won Best in Show...which is okay with them! But they have to work together to pass their Agility Exam, because either the whole pack passes or the whole pack fails.

The dark truth behind the Johnstown Flood of 1889 - one of the greatest calamities our country has ever experienced - is revealed in a beautiful, harrowing story, told in luminous verse.

Nine-year-old Willis Wilbur had his summer figured out. He and his best friend, Shelley, were going to Band Camp, and he was going to learn how to play the sousaphone. Easy. Simple. A done deal. But when Shelley is whisked off to Hawaii for a summer with her family, Willis is left staring down the long, boring road of an empty summer. Or even worse - eight long weeks of Day Camp. So Willis decides to try something new. He's going to Make a Date with Destiny.

Katie was Jude's favorite person in the world. And not many brothers say that about their sister and mean it. But to Jude, Katie was everything - the person who made him learn how to say "I love you" in every language, who performed dramatic readings of Romeo and Juliet, who obsessed over every item on the diner menu looking for the most authentic diner meal. The one who called him "Jude Banks, Superhero," because to her, Jude was the best.

Twelve-year-old Peter Gronkowski prides himself on being a professional businessman. Tired of the clichéd lemonade stands that line his block, he decides to start a better business with the help of an intern. But his intern of choice, the quiet and writerly Rachel Chambers, turns out to be more than he bargained for. Rachel is innovative, resourceful, driven - and when she's had enough of Peter's overbearing management style, she decides to start a competing empire next door.

Charlie isn't looking forward to sixth grade. If he starts sixth grade, chances are he'll finish it. And when he does, he'll grow older than the brother he recently lost. Armstrong isn't looking forward to sixth grade, either. When his parents sign him up for Opportunity Busing to a white school in the Hollywood Hills, all he wants to know is "what time in the morning will my alarm clock have the opportunity to ring?" When these two land at the same desk, it's the Rules Boy next to the Rebel.

Star Log: Day 100. Base camp is lively. I greet my crewmates and admire their work. We have mastered many skills on our journey, but today brings a new milestone. There have been: one hundred roll calls. One hundred songs. One hundred pledges. One hundred challenging days full of exploration and triumph!

Breaking up is hard to do - so why not pay someone to do it for you? Twelve-year-old Quentin never asked to be the heartbreak messenger. It just kind of happened, and he can't let a golden opportunity pass him by. The valuable communication service he offers is simple: He delivers breakup messages. For a small fee, he will deliver that message to your soon-to-be ex. But as he interacts with clients, message recipients, and his best friend, Abigail, it doesn't take long for him to wonder if his own heart will remain intact.

On the day a black truck rattles past her house and a Klan flyer lands in her front yard, 10-year-old Beth disappears from her Simmonsville, Georgia home. Armed with skills sharpened while caring for an alcoholic mother, she must battle to survive the days and months ahead. Seven years later, Imogene Coulter is burying her father - a Klan leader she has spent her life distancing herself from. But while clearing out her father's apparent hideout, she finds a child. Young and alive, in an abandoned basement, and behind a door that only locks from the outside.

A dirty, skinny, dog shows up in Sam and Katie's neighborhood. They start to follow it, and they don't like what they see: The Wilson sisters yell at it because it goes in their garden and the Tracy twins chase it on their bikes and throw things at it. Sam and Katie want the dog to know they'll be its friends. They think it should have a name. Most of all, they want it to like them. But then they do something thoughtless, and after that, it's hard to make things right, especially because the dog now won't come near them.