Showing results by narrator "Imani Parks" in All Categories

Eden has always had two loves: her best friend, Lacey, and her crush, Will. And then, almost simultaneously, she loses them both. Will to a car accident and Lacey to the inevitable growing up and growing apart. Devastated by the holes they have left in her life, Eden finds solace in an unlikely place. Before he died, Will set up an account with In Good Company, a service that uploads voices and emails and creates a digital companion that can be called anytime, day or night.

Garvey's father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading - anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey's life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus Garvey finds a way to accept himself and a way to finally reach his distant father.

Makeda June Kirkland is eleven-years-old, adopted, and black. Her parents and big sister are white, and even though she loves her family very much, Makeda often feels left out. When Makeda's family moves from Maryland to New Mexico, she leaves behind her best friend, Lena - the only other adopted black girl she knows - for a new life. In New Mexico, everything is different. At home, Makeda's sister is too cool to hang out with her anymore and at school, she can't seem to find one real friend.

Zahra Gaines is missing. After three long years away, Ruthie Hayden arrives in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska to this devastating news. Zahra was Ruthie's best friend - the only person who ever really understood her - and she vows to do whatever it takes to find her. Zahra vanished from a party just days before Ruthie's return, but the more people she talks to, the more she realizes that the Zahra she knew disappeared long before that fateful night. Gone is the whimsical, artistic girl who loved books and knew Ruthie's every secret.

On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris finds the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore. Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris. She feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing. Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life - and in death.

Many of us as women feel conflicted about Jesus’s calling on our lives because a woman trying to love God beyond her heart and soul, with her mind and strength, can be thought of as crossing some line or unspoken boundary. Bible teacher Kat Armstrong challenges us to ask, “Why am I allowing limitations on my pursuit of Jesus’s calling?”

Micah Dupree had always liked being the "good girl". She was happy painting, going to church, and acing her school projects. After all, she had a perfect older brother to live up to. But when he unexpectedly dies, Micah's world is turned upside down. With her anxiety growing, a serious boyfriend in the picture, and new feelings emerging, Micah begins to question what being the "good girl" really means...and if it's worth it, anyway.

JC shines like a 4th of July sparkler. She has the best ideas and the biggest, funniest laugh, and the party starts when she arrives. Serena St. John is proud to be known as her best friend. Everything changes when JC returns from the hospital with a new kidney—and a new best friend. Lonely Serena works on her vlogs, hoping to earn a shot at becoming a classroom reporter. If she can be smart and funny on video, why can't she manage that in real life? As Serena discovers her voice through vlogging, she learns that she's not just there to reflect JC's light—she can shine on her own.

From the Great Depression through the post-World War II years, Joseph “Ziggy” Johnson has been the pulse of Detroit’s famous Black Bottom. A celebrated gossip columnist for the city’s African-American newspaper, the Michigan Chronicle, he is also the emcee of one of the hottest night clubs, where he’s rubbed elbows with the legendary black artists of the era, including Ethel Waters, Billy Eckstein, and Count Basie. Ziggy is also the founder and dean of the Ziggy Johnson School of Theater. But now the doyen of Black Bottom is ready to hang up his many dapper hats.

At the suggestion of their friend Luke, Fiona and Finn volunteer at an animal rescue shelter, where they meet two sweet dogs who are in need of comfort, too. Perhaps with time, patience, and their father’s gentle words in their hearts, hope will spark once more.

This collection includes The Shy Little Kitten, Tootle, Home for a Bunny, The Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, and The Sailor Dog.

The new Park Row Magic Academy construction is underway, and Kyana is searching for magic activities to fill the school break. When she visits the building for supplies, she's grabbed by an Available spirit! Even though she's able to slip its grasp, something is wrong—she can't stop crying and laughing uncontrollably. Is she cursed? Then Ashley shares an invitation to a camp for magical learning. Ash thinks that whatever curse is messing with Kyana, Dr. Minzy, a famous teacher there, will know how to fix it. But once they reach the secret camp site, the magical portal suddenly collapses!

Pablo, Violet, and their classmate Garry are on a field trip to the Environmental Science Center when they are transported to the Maker Maze! In the maze, they’ll work with wacky scientist Dr. Crisp to complete three challenges all about wind, solar, and tidal energy. But then Violet begins to feel bad about how much energy she’s been using. Can she, Pablo, and Garry learn how to use energy in a way that doesn't hurt the earth?

Laila gave Lucy a cupcake on the second day of kindergarten, and they've been inseparable ever since. But the summer before eighth grade, they find out that since they live on opposite sides of town, they’ll go to different high schools. Yuck! Then Laila’s invited to compete at the Golden Cookie competition, which awards its winner admission and a full ride to the prestigious Sunderland boarding school, and it’s the perfect opportunity.