Animal Friendships

Lauren’s life is a mess. She has a storage unit full of candles she can’t sell, a growing mountain of debt, and a teenage daughter, Dove, who barely speaks to her. Then her husband sends her a text that changes everything. Eager to escape her problems, she drives herself and Dove south to her late mother’s rundown trailer in Florida. While keeping her eccentric new neighbours at Swaying Palms at bay, Lauren begins to untangle the truth about her estranged mother. How did world-famous portrait photographer Imogen Starr end up at Swaying Palms?

This inspiring and affordable collection of six stories---plus instructions for ten different games and activities---from the bestselling The Berenstain Bears Living Lights™ brand will encourage children ages 4-8 to embrace a sense of adventure and curiosity about the world around them.

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

When Ralph and his pesky cousins accidentally make a mess at the Mountain View Inn, Ralph decides that he'd better take his motorcycle and leave. He persuades his young pal Ryan to take him to school, where Ralph is an instant hit with Ryan's classmates. But Ralph doesn't like being told what to do. Worse than that, his precious motorcycle gets broken. Is Ralph stuck at school forever?

When Ben Moon moved from the Midwest to Oregon, he hadn’t planned on getting a dog. But when he first met the soulful gaze of a rescue pup in a shelter, Ben instantly felt a connection, and his friendship with Denali was born. The two of them set out on the road together, on an adventure that would take them across the American west and through some of the best years of their lives. But when Ben was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 29, he faced a difficult battle with the disease, and Denali never once left his side until they were back out surfing and climbing crags.

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree" - people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend, Bongo, and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.

Catalina "Cat" Duran and her friends thought they were on a field trip to see the seals at the aquarium. So why has the seal show been cancelled?

Victoria Secord, a 14-year-old Alaskan dogsled racer, loses her way on a routine outing with her dogs. With food gone and temperatures dropping, her survival and that of her dogs and the mysterious boy she meets in the woods is entirely up to her. The author Terry Lynn Johnson is a musher herself, and her crackling writing puts listeners at the reins as Victoria and Chris experience setbacks, mistakes, and small triumphs in their wilderness adventure.

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent, and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

19-year-old Phoebe and her courier father Al have recently moved to Devon, to a small cottage with a river at the end of the garden. Struggling with her health, Phoebe doesn't go out much these days. Instead, she spends her time playing detective—trying to deduce from her father's deliveries what kinds of lives her neighbours lead. When Phoebe finds an abandoned baby otter by the river, it's just the push she needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the otter to the local sanctuary, she feels a joy that she has not felt in a very long time.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" Meet Blue. A muddy country road is no match for this little pick up - that is, until he gets stuck while pushing a dump truck out of the muck. Luckily, Blue has made a pack of farm animal friends along his route. And they're willing to whatever it takes to get their pal back on the road. Filled with truck sounds and animals noises, here is a rollicking homage to the power of friendship and the rewards of helping others.

Everyone knows that Narwhal is a big fan of sugary treats—but Jelly is shocked when Narwhal's tusk-tooth isn't looking so pearly white anymore and is feeling a little funny. It turns out, Narwhal has been using it as a "snack saver"! Thankfully, no one knows more about dental hygiene than Shark—she has seven rows of teeth, after all! Meanwhile, Jelly and Crab try to show Narwhal that it's fine to frown if you're feeling down. Can Narwhal's friends convince the happiest creature in the ocean that it's okay to have a bad day?

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory - even if it means traveling the globe alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.

Meet Ricky Ricotta, a little mouse with a big problem! Ricky Ricotta lives in Squeakyville with his mom and dad. Ricky has a hard time making friends at school, and the neighborhood bullies are always picking on him. If only Ricky could find someone to be his best buddy and keep those creepy bullies away! Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a mad scientist named Dr. Stinky McNasty has created a mighty robot who is as gentle as he is powerful. Dr. Stinky plans to make the robot destroy Squeakyville, but there's one little thing in his way: Ricky Ricotta!

A friendly, rotund cat visits six diverse people in an busy urban neighborhood, receiving snacks and love. When a near-accident threatens the cat, the neighbors pull together as a community. Told from the point of view of each of the neighbors, this heartfelt story reflects the universal desire for connection and companionship.

Blackstone Audiobooks presents, from the unabridged collection A.A. Milne's Pooh Classics, the 44 poems and verses from When We Were Very Young performed by Peter Dennis. This is the only reading of these delightful verses authorized by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin.

One tiny snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on the tail of a whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world. But when disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it's the tiny snail who saves the day.

It’s a new year at horse camp for new Pony Girls. Charlie, Gracie, Paisley, and Zoey narrate their own stories as they navigate anxiety, learn about caring for animals, and take photos for the camp newspaper. Listeners new to chapter books will love this look into the world of Storm Cliff Stables, with fewer words and younger girls in the same pastoral setting!

Chipper is a very special dog. He's part of a multi-million dollar experiment at a secret organization known only as The Institute. The Institute has been experimenting with dogs, melding them with state-of-the-art computer technology. But there's a problem with Chipper. His natural dog instincts often overrule his computer side. No matter what he's doing, if he sees a squirrel or a mouse, he'll drop everything to chase it.

An abandoned calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the achingly lonely howl of a chained up, abused hound dog deep in the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family.