Audiobooks by Cynthia Kadohata

Saucy

From Newbery Medalist and National Book Award–winning author Cynthia Kadohata comes an irrepressible and heartwarming story about a girl and her ever-growing pig, Saucy—perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan and Flora & Ulysses! Being a quadruplet can make it hard to stand out from the crowd. Becca's three brothers all have something that makes them...them. Jake has his music and dancing, Jammer plays hockey, and K.C. thinks they're all living in a simulation and doesn't see the point of doing much of anything. Becca is the only one with nothing to make her special. But when she finds a tiny, sick piglet on the side of the road, Becca knows this is it. This is her thing. She names the piglet Saucy and between her own pleading and Saucy's sweet, pink face, Becca convinces her family to take her in. Soon, Saucy is as big a part of the family as anyone else—and getting bigger. With each pound Saucy gains, the more capable she becomes of destroying the house and landing Becca in trouble. Some tough decisions need to be made about Becca's pet, and her search for solutions brings to light exactly where Saucy came from. Turns out, there are a lot more scared piglets out there, and saving them may take Becca and her brothers finally doing something together.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Mizuo Peck (Narrator)

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A Place to Belong

A Japanese-American family, reeling from their ill treatment in the Japanese internment camps, gives up their American citizenship to move back to Hiroshima, unaware of the devastation wreaked by the atomic bomb in this piercing look at the aftermath of World War II by Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata. World War II has ended, but while America has won the war, twelve-year-old Hanako feels lost. To her, the world, and her world, seems irrevocably broken. America, the only home she's ever known, imprisoned then rejected her and her family—and thousands of other innocent Americans—because of their Japanese heritage, because Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan, the country they've been forced to move to, the country they hope will be the family's saving grace, where they were supposed to start new and better lives, is in shambles because America dropped bombs of their own—one on Hiroshima unlike any other in history. And Hanako's grandparents live in a small village just outside the ravaged city. The country is starving, the black markets run rampant, and countless orphans beg for food on the streets, but how can Hanako help them when there is not even enough food for her own brother? Hanako feels she could crack under the pressure, but just because something is broken doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Cracks can make room for gold, her grandfather explains when he tells her about the tradition of kintsukuroi—fixing broken objects with gold lacquer, making them stronger and more beautiful than ever. As she struggles to adjust to find her place in a new world, Hanako will find that the gold can come in many forms, and family may be hers.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Jennifer Ikeda (Narrator)

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Checked

From Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata comes a brilliantly realized sports novel about a hockey player who must discover who he is without the sport that defines him. Hockey is Conor's life. His whole life. He'll say it himself, he's a hockey beast. It's his dad's whole life too-and Conor is sure that's why his stepmom, Jenny, left. There are very few things Conor and his dad love more than the game, and one of those things is their Doberman, Sinbad. When Sinbad is diagnosed with cancer, Conor chooses to put his hockey lessons and practices on hold so they can pay for Sinbad's chemotherapy. But without hockey to distract him, Conor begins to notice more. Like his dad's crying bouts, and his friend's difficult family life. And then Conor notices one more thing: Without hockey, the one thing that makes him feel special, is he really special at all?

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), John Kroft (Narrator)

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The Thing About Luck

The winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata. Kouun is "good luck" in Japanese, and one year my family had none of it. Just when Summer thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan. Right before harvest season. But the mortgage has to be paid, so Summer's grandparents are going on harvest instead, and taking Summer, her little brother Jaz, and their dog Thunder with them. Obaachan and Jiichan are well, they're old fashioned, and demanding. Between helping Obaachan cook for the workers, covering for her when her back pain worsens, and worrying about her little brother, who can't seem to make any friends, Summer has her hands full. Then one of the boys Summer has known forever starts paying extra attention to her. But what begins as a welcome distraction from the hard work soon turns into a mess of its own and Summer winds up, once again, disappointing Obaachan. But surelytheir badluck isup, surely? Well that's the thing--bad luck can alwaysget worse. And when that happens, Summer has to figure out how to change it, herself, even if it means further displeasing Obaachan. Because it might be the only way to save her family's job.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Joy Osmanski (Narrator)

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Half a World Away

From National Book Award and Newbery Medal winning author Cynthia Kadohata, 11 year old Jaden's adoptive parents are traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby. All Jaden sees is him being replaced. To him, he has only ever been an epic fail to his parents with his stealing, hoarding, fire lighting, aggressive running, and obsession with electricity. He knows his parents love him, but he feels...nothing. Not a thing when it comes to them. But when they get to the Baby House, they find that the infant they've agreed to adopt has already been adopted, and literally within minutes are faced with having to choose from six other babies. While his parents agonize, Jaden couldn't be less interested. More interesting are the toddlers. One, a little guy named Dimash, who, despite being three years old, can only utter a word or two, spies Jaden, and begins to barrel over to him every time he sees him. Jaden finds himself increasingly intrigued by and worried about Dimash. Dimash will soon age out of the orphanage, and then his life will be as hopeless as Jaden feels now. For the first time in his life, Jaden actually feels something that isn't pure blinding fury, and there's no way to control it, or its power.... From camels rooting through garbage like raccoons, to eagles being trained like hunting dogs, to streets that are more pothole than pavement, the detailing is finely wrought and authentic. Cynthia Kadohata once again finds that one small story that speaks volumes, and introduces us to a world sealed to most of us, a world we'll find ourselves returning to again and again in our minds, wondering, what if, what if?

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)

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A Million Shades of Gray

Tin is known throughout his Vietnam village as being brave, possessing the calm and courage needed to expertly train wild elephants. But when American troops-who Tin's tribe, the Dega, have been helping-pull out of the Vietnam War and his village is occupied by Viet Cong forces seeking revenge, twelve-year-old Tin watches his life change in a million terrible ways. His bravery is put to a new test: He must choose between staying captive or saving his elephant's life by fleeing into the dangerous depths of the jungle. At once heartbreaking and full of hope, A Million Shades of Gray brings listeners close to a world few know about-and no one will ever forget.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Keith Nobbs (Narrator)

Audiobook

Outside Beauty

There's only one way Shelby and her sisters can describe their mother: she's a sexpot. She collects men (and loans, spending money, and gifts of all kinds) from all over the country. Sure, she's atypical, but she's also more than a pretty face and nail polish -- she's confident and brave and lives lifeon her own terms. And her daughters adore her, and work together to keep the family grounded in a way their mother can't. Then a late-night car crash shatters everything, including their mother's arm and face. Suddenly, the family is scattered across the country, each girl being sent to live with her respective father. While Helen undergoes surgery and post-surgery, the sisters try to adjust to a life without each other. The trouble is, they're NOT adjusting, and the youngest, Maddie, is so terrified of her father that she's withdrawing...from her sisters, and from herself. That's when Shelby realizes something must be done -- something drastic -- to reclaim her family. At turns wickedly funny and unflinchingly haunting, Outside Beauty showcases Cynthia Kadohata's unerring ability to explore the bonds that bind.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Sue Jean Kim (Narrator)

Audiobook

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cracker is one of the United States Army’s most valuable weapons: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She’s a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too. Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he’s going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant–and everyone else who didn’t think he was cut out for war–wrong. But sometimes Rick can’t help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad’s hardware store. When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn’t so sure about this new owner. He’s going to have to prove himself to her before she’s going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Kimberly Farr (Narrator)

Audiobook

Weedflower

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to. Now, other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor and Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new “home.” Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they’d been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend…. With searing insight and clarity, Newbery Medal—winning author Cynthia Kadohata explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young girl who yearns to belong. Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of a friendship across the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of Japanese Americans and Native Americans changed the future of both.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Kimberly Farr (Narrator)

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Kira - Kira

Glittering. That’s how Katie Takeshima’s sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people’s eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it’s Lynn who explains to her why people stop them on the street to stare. And it’s Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering—kira-kira—in the future. Luminous in its persistence of love and hope, Kira-Kira is Cynthia Kadohata’s stunning debut in middle-grade fiction.

Cynthia Kadohata (Author), Elaina Erika Davis (Narrator)

Audiobook