
Free Lunch
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Narrated by:
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Ramon De Ocampo
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By:
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Rex Ogle
About this listen
A distinctive new voice: Rex Ogle's story of starting middle school on the free lunch program is timely, heartbreaking, and true. Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle's first semester in sixth grade. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, and were short of school supplies, and Rex was on his school's free lunch program. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex's is a compelling story of a more profound hunger - that of a child for his parents' love and care.
Compulsively listenable, beautifully crafted, and authentically told with the voice and point of view of a sixth-grade kid, Free Lunch is a remarkable debut by a gifted storyteller.
©2019 Rex Ogle (P)2019 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. At just sixteen years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
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Must read for educators
- By Sara W on 01-17-21
By: Ibi Zoboi, and others
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The Benefits of Being an Octopus
- By: Ann Braden
- Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend - they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend, Fuchsia, has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them. Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus.
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An Amazing Book
- By Prime user on 08-03-20
By: Ann Braden
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Echo
- By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Mark Bramhall, David deVries, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Audie Award, Middle Grade, 2016. Lost and alone in the forbidden Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each become sinterwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together.
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One of the best audio productions I have heard
- By tru britty on 07-28-15
By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
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Wolf Hollow
- By: Lauren Wolk
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and though her bullying seems isolated at first, it quickly escalate. Toby, a reclusive World War I veteran, soon becomes the target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby’s strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness.
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Amazing Book...not just for YA
- By Raelene Vautrin on 11-29-17
By: Lauren Wolk
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Book Scavenger
- By: Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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For 12-year-old Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it's the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger (a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles). Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch.
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Bibliophile? - Check this out!
- By ASW on 03-05-16
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The End of Poverty
- Economic Possibilities for Our Time
- By: Jeffrey Sachs
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hilgartner
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed by Time as one of the world's hundred most influential people, Jeffrey D. Sachs is renowned for his work around the globe advising economies in crisis. Now a classic of its genre, The End of Poverty distills more than 30 years of experience to offer a uniquely informed vision of the steps that can transform impoverished countries into prosperous ones. Sachs lays out a clear conceptual map of the world economy. In this 10th anniversary edition, Sachs presents an extensive new foreword assessing the progress of the past decade.
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A Call for Africa
- By Mr Conway on 08-03-12
By: Jeffrey Sachs
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Four Eyes
- Four Eyes, Book 1
- By: Rex Ogle
- Narrated by: Benjamin Valic
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixth grade isn't as great as Rex thought it would be. He's the only kid who hasn't had a growth spurt, and the bullies won't let him forget it. His closest friend is unreliable, at best. And there's a cute girl in his class who he can't stop thinking about. With so much going on, everything is a blur—including Rex's vision! So when he discovers that he needs glasses, and his family can only afford the ugliest pair in the store, any hope Rex had of fitting in goes completely out of focus.
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The story was really interesting
- By Jennifer Kilpela on 02-25-25
By: Rex Ogle
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Heart of a Samurai
- By: Margi Preus
- Narrated by: James Yaegashi
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Praised as “a timeless tale” by Booklist in a starred review, this Newbery Honor book by Margi Preus explores the cultural divide between the East and West circa 1841. When Manjiro, a Japanese teenager, is thrown from his fishing boat during a storm, he’s rescued by an American whaling ship. Befriending the ship’s captain, Manjiro decides to travel with the crew to Massachusetts. But years later, when Manjiro attempts to return to his homeland, he’s imprisoned as an outsider
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Wonderful !
- By Kimberly on 02-21-16
By: Margi Preus
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Obsessed
- A Memoir of My Life with OCD
- By: Allison Britz
- Narrated by: Emily Ellet
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Until sophomore year of high school, 15-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home. But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.
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Wonderful book, but be careful if you also suffer from OCD
- By Anthony J. Tyler on 04-10-21
By: Allison Britz
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The Wednesday Wars
- By: Gary D. Schmidt
- Narrated by: Joel Johnstone
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling - he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam.
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A Happy Book
- By David Tousey on 11-01-20
By: Gary D. Schmidt
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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
- By: Karina Yan Glaser
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It's practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have 11 days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home. A modern classic in the making reminiscent of the Penderwicks series.
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I really like it!
- By Joy Faber on 10-24-21
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Schooled
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Andy Paris, Steven Boyer, Helena Prezio, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Capricorn Anderson has spent his entire life on a farm with his hippie grandmother. After an accident puts Grandma in the hospital, Cap is forced to attend Claverage Middle School and live with his guidance counselor. The tradition at Claverage is for students to nominate the biggest nerd for class president, and Cap is the obvious choice. But with his odd ways and positive outlook, Cap just might turn the joke upside down by becoming the best class president ever.
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won't be able to stop listening
- By Theresa on 04-12-10
By: Gordon Korman
Narrator was awesome
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Grown-up, sad/emotional, beautiful
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the narrative was amazing
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The content.
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A hard story beautifully delivered
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Strength, resilience, and hope for the future.
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It is a great story about compassion and not judging people!
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My boys, ages nine and twelve, enjoy this book very much. While there is some profanity throughout the storyline, it serves as a reality check for the kids, helping them understand that everyone faces their own struggles. This perspective has been valuable for their young minds. I highly recommend this book to anyone open-minded about the stories and language used, as it reflects the reality of life for some children. This book provides a meaningful and thought-provoking experience.
My boys loves this story!
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Thankful for this book
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Great story and great narration!
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