Publisher Description
Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us. In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers. From these distinguished authors come ten distinct and vibrant stories. Table of Contents & Cast of Narrators: “Foreword,” written and read by Ellen Oh “How to Transform an Everyday Hoop Court Into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium” by Matt de la Peña, read by Dion Graham “The Difficult Path” by Grace Lin, read by Samantha Quan “Sol Painting, Inc.,” written and read by Meg Medina “Secret Samantha” by Tim Federle, read by Julia Whelan “The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn” by Kelly J. Baptist, read by Adam Lazarre-White “Choctaw Bigfoot, Midnight in the Mountains,” written and read by Tim Tingle “Main Street” by Jacqueline Woodson, read by Abigail Revasch “Flying Lessons” by Soman Chainani, read by Sunil Malhotra “Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine Cents,” written and read by Kwame Alexander “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers, read by Dominic Hoffman ABOUT WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS, read by Ellen Oh "There's plenty of magic in this collection to go around." -Booklist, Starred "A natural for middle school classrooms and libraries, this strong collection should find eager readers" -Kirkus, Starred "Inclusive, authentic, and eminently readable, this collection of short stories is an excellent addition for libraries and classrooms.”-School Library Journal, Starred
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“There’s a story for every listener in this lively and winning anthology from We Need Diverse Books. Dion Graham brings just the right energy and keen understanding to Matt de la Peña’s brilliant “How to Transform an Everyday Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium.” Tim Federle’s “Secret Samantha,” as narrated by Julia Whelan, is another standout, and authors Meg Medina, Tim Tingle, and Kwame Alexander each bring their own authentic voices and storytelling chops to their entries. All of the narrators here deliver skilled readings, matching the moods of the ten stories. It’s a collection to be savored and the perfect introduction to these superb authors.”
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AudioFile
About the Narrators
Abigail Revasch is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and an actress. She has starred in television shows such as 7th Heaven and ER and has narrated numerous video games and commercials, as well as audiobooks. She holds a BA in theater arts from Northwestern University.
Adam Lazarre-White, best known for starring as Nathan Hastings on The Young & The Restless, also gained notoriety on Living Single, Girlfriends, Will & Grace, The Parkers, and in the Emmy Award–winning miniseries The Temptations. His other television and film credits include Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Deliver Us from Eva, Ocean’s 13, All about You, and Forgiveness. Lazarre-White has many credits as a voice artist on commercial radio, television, and film. He graduated from Harvard and then returned home to New York to train at Terry Schreiber Studios and continue his work on LA stages, notably in Romeo & Juliet, The Trojan Women, and Neil Labute’s This Is How It Goes.
Dominic Hoffman, winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration, has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He is a Los Angeles–based actor of stage, screen, and television. He has appeared in such television shows as The Shield, NYPD Blue, and The Jamie Foxx Show. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as well as the American Conservatory Theater.
Julia Whelan is a novelist, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and multiple award-winning audiobook narrator. She graduated with a degree in English and creative writing from Middlebury College and Oxford University. She is a former child actor who has appeared in multiple films and television shows.
Samantha Quan
is a graduate of the Graduate Acting Program at New York University. She has
performed on stage in New York and regionally, including at the Ensemble Studio
Theater and the Globe Theaters. Samantha presently resides in Los Angeles,
where she works in film and television.
Sunil Malhotra is an actor and voice artist. His film credits include Dude, Where’s the Party?, Call Center, 24, ER, Cold Case, and The West Wing. On stage, he has performed on Broadway and at East West Players. He has also worked as a writer, producer, and director, and his audiobook narrations have won three AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Ellen Oh is the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books and author of the award-winning Spirit Hunters series for middle grade readers and the Prophecy trilogy for young adults. She was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Notable People of 2014. She is a former adjunct college instructor and lawyer.
Kwame Alexander is a poet, speaker, educator, and bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children. His other works include the novels He Said, She Said and Booked, as well as his nonfiction debut, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. He is the cofounder of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program.
Meg Medina is the author of The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind and the picture book Tía Isa Wants a Car, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She is also a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
Kiff VandenHeuvel, voice talent and audiobook narrator, is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is an alumni of the Second City comedy theater. He is an accomplished improviser and sketch comedy director, and he teaches voice-over, improv, and directing at Second City Hollywood. He has appeared in hundreds of television and radio commercials and is well known in the video game community as the voice of Zachary Hale Comstock in Bioshock: Infinite.
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.