Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat--by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them--everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives. Cast of Narrators: N’Jameh Camara, as Haley Jose Carrera, as Tiago Dean Flanagan, as Ashton Angel Romero, as Esteban Toshi Widoff-Woodson, as Holly Mikelle Wright-Matos, as Amari and also featuring the author, Jacqueline Woodson, as Ms. Laverne
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“N’Jameh Camara narrates the emotive narrative of biracial Haley, who describes increasingly honest conversations among six classmates along with her own undisclosed truths. In this unique audio, six narrators represent characters in shared dialogues…An interview between Woodson and her son, Jackson–Leroi, which serves as an afterword, is honest and powerful. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A powerful tale of community and mutual growth. The bond they develop is palpable.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“The magic is in the writing. Woodson tells stories torn from headlines but personalizes them with poetry and memories.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Woodson celebrates all that is essential and good for humanity—compassion, understanding, security, and freedom—in this touching novel…Showing how America’s political and social issues affect children on a daily basis.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Spare, lyrical, and evocative prose carries the story seamlessly, weaving in themes of justice and family, friendship and courage…Should be on library shelves everywhere.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jacqueline Woodson, named national Young People’s Poet Laureate, is a multiple-award-winning author of more than two dozen acclaimed books for young adults, middle graders, and children. She won the 2019 Indie Champion Award for advocacy of independent bookstores. Among her many other honors are the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the NAACP Image Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, among others. She is the 2018 winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for “substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” She was the 2013 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
Toshi Widoff–Woodson is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning narrator.
N’Jameh Camara is a voice artist and Earphones Award–winning narrator.
Edoardo Ballerini, an American actor, director, film producer, and multiaward–winning narrator. He has won several Audie Awards for best narration, including for 2019’s Best Male Narrator of the Year. He was named by Booklist as winner of their 2023 Voice of Choice Award, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, from classics to modern masters, from bestsellers to the inspirational, from Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners to spine-tingling series, and much more. In television and film, he is best known for his roles in A Murder at the End of the World, The Sopranos, 24, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dinner Rush, and Romeo Must Die. He is also trained in theater and continues to do much work on stage.