Showing results by narrator "Pete Cross" in All Categories

Today is the day Jo Monarch has been wishing on the moon about her entire life. It's the day of the Lineup, when she could be selected to leave her life in the Ashes behind. The day she could move across the mountains to a glittering, rich future. Once Jo is plucked from the Lineup, the real test begins. She still needs to impress the New Georgia Reps at tonight's Gala, and her path forward leads straight to Cove Wells. The damaged stepson of one of the Reps, Cove has been groomed as an emotional weapon, taught that love is a tool -- and he's set on breaking Jo's heart next.

We know that eating animals is bad for the planet and bad for our health, and yet we do it anyway. Ask anyone in the plant-based movement and the solution seems obvious: stop eating meat. But, for many people, that stark solution is neither appealing nor practical. In Meat Me Halfway, author and founder of the reducetarian movement Brian Kateman puts forth a realistic and balanced goal: mindfully reduce your meat consumption.

Bob Ryan has scored every baseball game he's attended, at every level, since the start of the 1977 season. It's a deeply personal tradition still going strong at more than 1,400 games and counting. The tattered scorebooks he's filled are worn from age, travel, and countless summer days, but their grids and scrawled symbols tell the stories of milestones, rivalries, rare historic achievements, and more. In Scoring Position captures the incomparable spirit of baseball, with its infinite possibilities and madcap anomalies. 

Buster's in big trouble. He's been dragged to Dog Court for breaking one of the most sacred of all dog rules: Never ever talk to a human, or let a human know how smart you really are. But he swears he had a good reason! The boy he's been taking care of, Tonio, needed his help in a big way. You see, Tonio is afraid all the time - afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, afraid of making a fool of himself or (even worse) hurting someone else's feelings. 

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade five, tells the story of a teenage boy who is inspired by a story his grandparents tell him. As a result, he feels inspired to perform something original at his own school talent show. In addition to the story, this audio study provides a full lesson on the importance of characters, how the sequence of events presented in a story can change our perception, and features key vocabulary words.

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade four, follows Mike Blunt, a smaller-than-average boy who becomes a batboy for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is constantly teased by the players for being so small. However, one of the players, Roberto Clemente, stands up for him and serves as a role model for how to handle discrimination and prejudice. This audio study presents concepts such as elements of plot and mood, as well as key vocabulary words. 

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade four, introduces listeners to the importance of caring for your community. Getting Down and Dirty focuses on some of the run-down problem places found in cities, and how communities have joined together to turn these places into beautiful shared spaces. In addition to discussing bettering our communities, this audio study takes a look at some key comprehension skills including identifying an author's purpose, determining cause-and-effect relationships, and building vocabulary.

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade three, introduces listeners to a variety of animals that are native to the savannah in Africa. As listeners learn about these animals, they are also introduced to the multiple seasons that occur, while also spotlighting the Maasai people who have lived in East Africa for centuries. This audio study focuses on identifying a sequence of events, how to compare and contrast, and key vocabulary words throughout the nonfiction narrative.

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade five, is based on the real-life events of the Spanish fleet commanded by Ferdinand Magellan in the early 1500s. It follows the adventures of Juan de Zubileta, a young boy who serves as a page aboard one of the ships. In addition to the story, this audio study provides a full lesson on the importance of setting in a story, the three most utilized points of view, and features key vocabulary words.

Written in seclusion following the intense negative public reaction to the publication of his novel Pierre, The Piazza Tales is Herman Melville's accessible and entertaining collection of short stories and novellas concerning love, labor, and loss. The collection includes his three most important achievements in the genre of short fiction: the short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and the novellas Benito Cereno and The Encantadas.

At 2 a.m., the Pulse nightclub was winding down on its weekly Latino night. The building was dark, crowded, and loud. Patrons were making plans to leave when they were ambushed by a gunman, who began firing in every direction. Customers tried to escape, but the killer followed. For the next three hours, the gunman terrorized victims while playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police.

Every day, scientists conduct pioneering experiments with the potential to transform how we live. Yet it isn't every day you hear from the scientists themselves! Now, award-winning author Jim Al-Khalili and his team of top-notch experts explain how today's earthshaking discoveries will shape our world tomorrow - and beyond. Pull back the curtain on genomics, robotics, AI, the Internet of Things, synthetic biology, transhumanism, interstellar travel, colonization of the solar system, teleportation, and much more.

After rising to national fame as the general who defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson ran for president as a political outsider, championing the interest of common farmers and frontiersmen. Determined to take down the wealthy, well-educated East Coast elites, he pledged to destroy the national bank, which he believed was an engine of corruption serving the interest of bankers and industrialists. A staunch nationalist, he sought to secure and expand the nation's borders.

Burdened by poverty and spiritually dulled by a loveless marriage to Zeena, his older and ailing wife, Ethan Frome is emotionally stirred by the arrival of their youthful cousin, Mattie Silver, who becomes employed as household help. Mattie's presence not only brightens a gloomy house but also stirs long-dormant feelings in Ethan. However, their growing love for each other is discovered by the embittered Zeena, and it presages an ending to the tale that is both shocking and savagely ironic.

On an August night in 1986, Jennifer Levin left a Manhattan bar with Robert Chambers. The next morning, her strangled, battered body was found in Central Park. Linda Wolfe goes beyond the headlines and media hype to recreate a story of a teenager whose immigrant mother was determined to make a better life for her son, a petty thief and drug user who'd been expelled from the best schools. Wasted powerfully depicts the freewheeling 1980s society that spawned a generation steeped in violence and the fatal impulses that drove Robert Chambers to kill.

The Metamorphosis is a story that follows the life of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman. The story begins when one morning Gregor wakes to find himself transformed into a large insectlike creature. His family and colleagues have growing concern at his absence from work but, upon checking on him, are horrified by his grotesque appearance. The story then follows Gregor's thought process, since the family can no longer understand his language.

Every president started out as a kid! Forget the legends, tall tales, and historic achievements - before they were presidents, the future leaders of the United States had regular-kid problems just like you. John F. Kennedy hated his big brother. Lyndon Johnson pulled pranks in class. Barack Obama was bothered by bullies. And Bill Clinton was crazy clumsy (he once broke his leg jumping rope). Kid Presidents tells all of their stories and more in these hilarious biographies. History has never been this much fun!

In The Great Great Wall, architectural historian and critic Ian Volner takes a deep dive into the story of Donald Trump’s wall. Volner follows the conception, selling, design, and construction (or lack thereof) of this expensive and consequential barrier, giving listeners a detailed description of what’s happening in Washington, DC - and along the border. He also travels far afield, to China, the Middle East, northern England, and back to our border to examine the barriers we’ve been building for centuries.

In Sicily: Land of Love and Strife, the process of capturing the island nation on film is revealed. Mark Spano invites the listener to follow him on his journey to celebrate the real Sicily, and to change the public perception of his family's homeland.

Choices we can expect to encounter, from life-changing career moves to the best route to the coast can expend a lot of time and mental energy if we haven't learned the basic skills required for getting things done effectively and decisively. This book is a basic practical guide to the all-important mental process by which we all live our lives: analyzing a situation, sorting out how to respond to it, and taking action accordingly.