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King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) Audiobook
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Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature!
Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry!
In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself.
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Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?"
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.
The Thing About Jellyfish
meets The Stars Beneath Our Feet in this story about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one's identity, from the author of Hurricane Child.Download and start listening now!
“Ron Butler lends expertise, elegance, and an unerring expressiveness to his heartbreakingly beautiful performance…This spectacular and touching performance is a must-listen for all ages. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“Callender’s vivid descriptions…are magical.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
"[A] powerful tale of grief, intersectional identity, and love.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Callender masterfully balances resonant themes of grief, love, family, friendship, racism, sexuality, and coming-of-age.”
— Horn Book (starred review) -
“[A] dynamic tale that will resonate with children struggling to reconcile who they are with what they think society wants them to be.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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Audiofile Magazine “Best of the Year”
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Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
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Winner of the Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Fiction & Poetry
King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) Listener Reviews
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About Kacen Callender
Kacen Callender is the author of multiple award–winning novels for children, teens, and adults, including the National Book Award winner King and the Dragonflies and the bestselling novel Felix Ever After, a Stonewall Honor Book.
About Ron Butler
Ron Butler is a Los Angeles–based actor, Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator, and voice artist with over a hundred film and television credits. Most kids will recognize him from the three seasons he spent on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP. He works regularly as a commercial and animation voice-over artist and has voiced a wide variety of audiobooks. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company and an Independent Filmmaker Project Award winner for his work in the HBO film Everyday People.