
The Length of a String
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tyla Collier
-
Carlotta Brentan
About this listen
Imani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birth parents. Anna has left behind her family to escape from Holocaust-era Europe to meet a new family - two journeys, one shared family history, and the bonds that make us who we are. Perfect for fans of The Night Diary.
Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to find her birth parents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she's Black and almost everyone she knows is White. Then her mom's grandmother - Imani's great-grandma Anna - passes away, and Imani discovers an old journal among her books. It's Anna's diary from 1941, the year she was 12 and fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn, New York. Anna's diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adoptive family of her own. And as Imani reads the diary, she begins to see her family, and her place in it, in a whole new way.
©2021 Elissa Brent Weissman (P)2021 Listening LibraryListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Galaxy of Sea Stars
- By: Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo
- Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Izzy feels as though her whole world is shifting, and she doesn’t like it. She wants her dad to act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. She wants her mom to live with them at the marina where they’ve moved instead of spending all her time on Block Island. Most of all, she wants Piper, Zelda, and herself - the Sea Stars - to stay best friends, as they start sixth grade in a new school.
-
-
Required Reading for 6th Grade Girls
- By navynurse1994 on 01-18-23
-
The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls
- By: James Bird
- Narrated by: Christopher Salazar
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Benjamin Waterfalls is a troubled kid: He steals as the quickest way to fill the emptiness in his life. Plus, he enjoys the danger, and it makes him feel good to sneak some money into his mom’s purse when rent is due. His Native American mother has tried everything to help Benny find a better path, but when he lands in court in front of an unforgiving judge, it looks like there’s no hope—until the judge agrees to allow Benny one last chance at turning his life around. The only problem is, he’s being sent to stay with his father, a man Benny hasn’t seen for seven years.
By: James Bird
-
Freewater
- By: Amina Luqman-Dawson
- Narrated by: Cary Hite, Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the cover of night, 12-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.
-
-
Powerful, Enlightening, and Empowering!
- By sabreen jai on 03-05-22
-
Keeper of the Lost Cities
- By: Shannon Messenger
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret - at least, that’s what she thinks.... But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well...she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth....
-
-
Amazing!
- By Anonymous User on 11-26-18
-
Salt to the Sea
- By: Ruta Sepetys
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes.
-
-
Haunting Historical YA Fiction
- By FanB14 on 02-19-16
By: Ruta Sepetys
-
Starfish
- By: Lisa Fipps
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth-birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules - like "no making waves", "avoid eating in public", and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles". And she's found her safe space - her swimming pool - where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie's weight will motivate her to diet.
-
-
Perfection!
- By JENNE ESTES on 07-02-21
By: Lisa Fipps
-
A Galaxy of Sea Stars
- By: Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo
- Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Izzy feels as though her whole world is shifting, and she doesn’t like it. She wants her dad to act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. She wants her mom to live with them at the marina where they’ve moved instead of spending all her time on Block Island. Most of all, she wants Piper, Zelda, and herself - the Sea Stars - to stay best friends, as they start sixth grade in a new school.
-
-
Required Reading for 6th Grade Girls
- By navynurse1994 on 01-18-23
-
The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls
- By: James Bird
- Narrated by: Christopher Salazar
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Benjamin Waterfalls is a troubled kid: He steals as the quickest way to fill the emptiness in his life. Plus, he enjoys the danger, and it makes him feel good to sneak some money into his mom’s purse when rent is due. His Native American mother has tried everything to help Benny find a better path, but when he lands in court in front of an unforgiving judge, it looks like there’s no hope—until the judge agrees to allow Benny one last chance at turning his life around. The only problem is, he’s being sent to stay with his father, a man Benny hasn’t seen for seven years.
By: James Bird
-
Freewater
- By: Amina Luqman-Dawson
- Narrated by: Cary Hite, Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the cover of night, 12-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.
-
-
Powerful, Enlightening, and Empowering!
- By sabreen jai on 03-05-22
-
Keeper of the Lost Cities
- By: Shannon Messenger
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret - at least, that’s what she thinks.... But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well...she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth....
-
-
Amazing!
- By Anonymous User on 11-26-18
-
Salt to the Sea
- By: Ruta Sepetys
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes.
-
-
Haunting Historical YA Fiction
- By FanB14 on 02-19-16
By: Ruta Sepetys
-
Starfish
- By: Lisa Fipps
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth-birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules - like "no making waves", "avoid eating in public", and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles". And she's found her safe space - her swimming pool - where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie's weight will motivate her to diet.
-
-
Perfection!
- By JENNE ESTES on 07-02-21
By: Lisa Fipps
-
Refugee
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom, Kyla Garcia, Assaf Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This timely and powerful novel tells the story of three different children seeking refuge. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe.
-
-
Intended for 5-8th graders, but it is good for adults too
- By LJK on 12-21-17
By: Alan Gratz
-
Allies
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Jamie Cline, Vaneh Assadourian, P. J. Ochlan, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
D-Day, June 6, 1944: the most expansive military endeavor in history. No less than world cooperation would bring down Hitler and the Axis powers. And so people - and kids - across the globe lent their part. From the young US soldiers in the boats to spies in the French countryside, the coordination of thousands came together. Alan Gratz, author of the New York Times best-selling Refugee, explores the necessity of teamwork and heroism in dismantling tyranny in this epic, yet personal, look at D-Day in time for the 75th anniversary of the operation.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Claire on 02-03-20
By: Alan Gratz
-
The One and Only Ivan
- By: Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
-
-
Very nice story
- By Ed on 09-03-13
By: Katherine Applegate, and others
-
Stella by Starlight
- By: Sharon M. Draper
- Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stella lives in the segregated South - in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.
-
-
Perfect marriage of voice and text
- By Anne Macdonell on 03-01-15
By: Sharon M. Draper
-
Esperanza Rising
- By: Pam Munoz Ryan
- Narrated by: Trini Alvarado
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl in Aguascalientes, Mexico could want. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. Pam Munoz Ryan eloquently portrays the Mexican workers' plight in this abundant and passionate novel.
-
-
GET THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW
- By Laura on 04-14-16
By: Pam Munoz Ryan
-
A Night Divided (Scholastic Gold)
- By: Jennifer A. Nielsen
- Narrated by: Kate Simses
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, 12-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother, Fritz, live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors, and her friends are prisoners in their own city.
-
-
Wonderful historical fiction!
- By Lane on 09-15-15
-
Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the height of World War II. Michael O'Shaunessey, son of the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany, lives with his family in Berlin. But Michael, like his parents, is a spy. He joins the Hitler Youth, taking part in their horrific games and book burning, despising everything they stand for but using his insider knowledge to bring important information back to his parents and the British Secret Service. When Michael is tasked to find out more about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi mission, things get even more complicated.
-
-
Great story, more designed for young adults 10-14
- By Dennis Larocque on 08-26-18
By: Alan Gratz
-
Letters from Rifka
- By: Karen Hesse
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind.
-
-
Not my favorite but worth the read.
- By DeadskinMask on 04-14-17
By: Karen Hesse
-
Amari and the Night Brothers
- By: B. B. Alston
- Narrated by: Imani Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good. So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton - if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.
-
-
Thank you!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-29-21
By: B. B. Alston
-
I Will Always Write Back
- How One Letter Changed Two Lives
- By: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch
- Narrated by: Chukwudi Iwuji, Emily Bauer
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only 10 letters, and 50 kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.
-
-
Got a pen pal?
- By THoward on 03-19-17
By: Martin Ganda, and others
-
Brown Girl Dreaming
- By: Jacqueline Woodson
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Woodson
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world.
-
-
Memoir of a childhood, in verse.
- By Adam Shields on 02-18-19
-
One Crazy Summer
- By: Rita Williams-Garcia
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern travel to Oakland to meet their mother, Cecil, who abandoned their family years earlier. But even when Cecil gets them to her house, she shows no interest and seems to view them as nothing but a nuisance.
-
-
Great family road trip book!
- By Iris J. Scott Love on 03-16-16
Critic reviews
Sydney Taylor Honor Book, awarded by the Association of Jewish Libraries
Tablet Magazine's Best Jewish Children's Books of 2018
“Told in two voices which Weissman weaves together like a double helix, this is a story of family ties, some of which are broken by war, some broken by choice, some broken by unanswered questions. But by the end, readers will see that love and faith - from strangers, from friends, and from long-gone ancestors - have the power to knit us together with strings that are so much stronger than genetics. I loved this sweet refuge of a book.” (Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Underneath and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp)
“You’ll yearn with this wonderful heroine as she searches for long-ago Anna and her own hidden past. The characters are unforgettable, and the ending is entirely satisfying. A book readers will love; I know I did.” (Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor-winning author of Lily’s Crossing)
“The Length of a String is a resounding continuum of connection and search for self. As universal as it is personal. A must read.” (Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor-winning author of One Crazy Summer)
What listeners say about The Length of a String
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nancy
- 12-17-21
gud
very gud very gud very good and yes vey good also good booo very good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!