Audiobooks Narrated by Catherine Taber

The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane

This sparkling middle-grade debut is a classic-in-the-making!  Maybelle Lane is looking for her father, but on the road to Nashville she finds so much more: courage, brains, heart--and true friends.  Eleven-year-old Maybelle Lane collects sounds. She records the Louisiana crickets chirping, Momma strumming her guitar, their broken trailer door squeaking. But the crown jewel of her collection is a sound she didn't collect herself: an old recording of her daddy's warm-sunshine laugh, saved on an old phone's voicemail. It's the only thing she has of his, and the only thing she knows about him. Until the day she hears that laugh--his laugh--pouring out of the car radio. Going against Momma's wishes, Maybelle starts listening to her radio DJ daddy's new show, drinking in every word like a plant leaning toward the sun. When he announces he'll be the judge of a singing contest in Nashville, she signs up. What better way to meet than to stand before him and sing with all her heart?  But the road to Nashville is bumpy. Her starch-stiff neighbor Mrs. Boggs offers to drive her in her RV. And a bully of a boy from the trailer park hitches a ride, too. These are not the people May would have chosen to help her, but it turns out they're searching for things as well. And the journey will mold them into the best kind of family--the kind you choose for yourself. Includes an original song introduced by the author.

Kate O'shaughnessy (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Operation Frog Effect

If one small act can create a ripple across the universe . . . what happens when a whole group of kids join together and act?  Told in eight perspectives, Operation Frog Effect is perfect for fans of Andrew Clements, Rob Buyea, and Sarah Weeks, and for anyone who wants to make a difference. Hi-- It's us, Ms. Graham's class. We didn't mean to mess things up. But we did. We took things too far, and now Ms. Graham is in trouble--for something we did. We made a mistake. The question is, can we fix it? Ms. Graham taught us that we get to choose the kind of people we want to be and that a single act can create ripples. So get ready, world--we're about to make some ripples. Sincerely, Kayley, Kai, Henry, Aviva, Cecilia, Blake, Sharon, Emily (and Kermit, class frog)   Everyone makes mistakes. But what happens when your mistake hurts someone else? Told in eight perspectives, Operation Frog Effect celebrates standing up and standing together, and tells the unforgettable story of how eight very different kids take responsibility for their actions and unite for a cause they all believe in. 'A heartfelt novel with complex characters who realize that to promote change in the world, they first have to change how they see each other.'--John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day Audiobook Cast of Narrators: Ron Butler as Kai Michael Crouch as Blake Maxwell Glick as Henry Kim Mai Guest as Aviva Ana Isabel as Cecilia Caitlin Kelly as Emily Kathleen McInerney as Kayley Catherine Taber as Sharon Bahni Turpin as the Narrator/Ms. Graham Includes original text from the novel adapted for audio, and exclusive closing commentary from the author 

Sarah Scheerger (Author), Ana Isabel, Bahni Turpin, Caitlin Kelly, Catherine Taber, Kathleen McInerney, Kim Mai Guest, Maxwell Glick, Michael Crouch, Ron Butler (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hope in the Holler

The poignant--and funny--story of a girl trying to be brave and find her place in the world after she's sent to live with scheming relatives. Right before Wavie's mother died, she gave Wavie a list of instructions to help her find her way in life, including this one: Be brave, Wavie B! You got as much right to a good life as anybody, so find it! But little did Wavie's mom know that events would conspire to bring Wavie back to Conley Hollow, the Appalachian hometown her mother tried to leave behind. Now Wavie's back in the Holler--and in the clutches of her Aunt Samantha Rose. Life with the devilish Samantha Rose and her revolting cousin Hoyt is no picnic, but there's real pleasure in sleeping in her own mother's old bed, and making friends with the funny, easygoing kids her aunt calls the "neighborhood-no-accounts." With their help, Wavie just might be able to prevent her aunt from becoming her legal guardian, and find her courage and place in the world

Lisa Lewis Tyre (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Once You Know This

A girl wishes for a better life for herself, her mom, and her baby brother and musters the courage to make it happen in this moving and emotionally satisfying story for readers of Kate DiCamillo and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. "Once You Know This reminds me of a flower blooming in the crack of a sidewalk. It's important, and it's special. Just read it."-Ali Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Thing About Jellyfish Eleven-year-old Brittany knows there has to be a better world out there. Lately, though, it sure doesn't feel like it. She and her best friend, Marisol, stick together at school, but at home Brittany's granny is sick, her cat is missing, there's never any money, and there's her little brother, Tommy, to worry about. Brittany has a hard time picturing her future as anything but a plain white sky. If her life is going to ever change, she needs a plan. And once she starts believing in herself, Brittany realizes that what has always seemed out of reach might be just around the corner. This debut novel by Emily Blejwas is perfect for readers who love emotionally satisfying books. Thoughtful and understated, it's the hopeful story of a girl who struggles to make her future bright . . . and the makeshift family that emerges around her. A Junior Library Guild Selection

Emily Blejwas (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Walking with Miss Millie

“A memorable and lovely debut.”--Kirkus Reviews “Walking with Miss Millie is full of subtle wisdom. Its ending is satisfying though sobering and there are elements of this story that stay with you long after the last page has been read.”--Karen English, Coretta Scott King Honor Award Author A poignant middle grade debut about the friendship between a white girl and an elderly black woman in the 1960s South Alice is angry at having to move to Rainbow, Georgia—a too small, too hot, dried-up place she’s sure will never feel like home. Then she gets put in charge of walking her elderly neighbor’s dog. But Clarence won’t budge without Miss Millie, so Alice and Miss Millie walk him together. Strolling with Clarence and Miss Millie quickly becomes the highlight of Alice's day and opens her eyes to all sorts of new things to marvel over. During their walks, they meet a mix of people, and Alice sees that although there are some bullies and phonies, there are plenty of kind folks, too. Miss Millie shares her family’s story with Alice, showing her the painful impact segregation has had on their town. And with Miss Millie, Alice is finally able to express her own heartache over why her family had to move there in the first place. Tamara Bundy’s beautifully written debut celebrates the wonder and power of friendship: how it can be found when we least expect it and make any place a home.

Tamara Bundy (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Tru and Nelle

Long before they became famous writers, Truman Capote (In Cold Blood) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) were childhood friends in Monroeville, Alabama. This fictionalized account of their time together opens at the beginning of the Great Depression, when Tru is seven and Nelle is six. They love playing pirates, but they like playing Sherlock and Watson-style detectives even more. It's their pursuit of a case of drugstore theft that lands the daring duo in real trouble. Humor and heartache intermingle in this lively look at two budding writers in the 1930s South.

G. Neri (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hound Dog True

Custodial Wisdom: Day Two Never use a metal ladder in an electrical storm. Bring an extra garbage can to the cafeteria on Turkey Drummettes day. Fix things before they get too big for fixing. Just one week until school starts. One week until Mattie Breen is the new girl again. One week until she has to introduce herself-to try and make friends. Unless she can convince her uncle Potluck, the school janitor, to take her on as a custodial apprentice. Then she'll be able to work with him at lunch and recess instead of needing to be with all the other fifth-graders. All she has to do is stick to the custodial wisdom she writes in her notebook. Too bad her notebook doesn't tell her what to do when that Quincy Sweet keeps popping up out of nowhere. Or how to talk to Mama about things that really matter. Or what to do when her carefully-thought-out apprentice plan comes crashing down around her. But maybe everything going wrong can begin to show Mattie what's right. About sharing a part of herself. About doing one small, brave thing. About making a friend she can trust with her secrets-a friend who is hound dog true.

Linda Urban (Author), Catherine Taber (Narrator)

Audiobook