Showing results by narrator "John McDonough" in All Categories

While desperately seeking income as a photographer, Dylan Cooper befriends art gallery assistant Grace MacVicar. So well do the two get along that Dylan begins to harbor hopes for the future. But at the premier of his photographic exhibition, he is shocked to see Grace arm-in-arm with a well-dressed gentleman. Feeling foolish and bewildered, Dylan ponders two painful questions: Why did Grace encourage his romantic aspirations? And who is this dashing stranger?

Life is hard for 12-year-old Lucas. First Uncle Asa dies of consumption, then Lizy and Pa. Now Mama is sick. And Lucas is the only one left to take care of her and their Connecticut farm. By the time his neighbor tells him of a strange, new cure, it is too late - Mama has just died. Reeling with sorrow, Lucas wanders until he sees a "help wanted" sign for a doctor's apprentice. He feels better while he is helping to pull teeth, visit the sick, and bury the dead.

Family memoirs and previously unpublished material provide the backdrop for this poignant portrait of a man whose heroic idealism inspired a nation. Edward Renehan's graceful prose allows listeners a close-up look at an entire family of larger-than-life heroes. Theodore Roosevelt taught his sons that wealth and influence were inextricably bound up with a duty to defend democracy to the death. His own exemplary conduct in the Spanish-American War helped win the war for the United States.

Froggy wants to win a big prize in the marching band contest at the Apple Blossom Parade, so he flops up to the attic to find his dad’s old saxophone. As they practice for the contest, Froggy and his friends learn the three most important marching band rules: Don’t look left. Don’t look right. And don’t stop for anything! But will these rules really help Froggy and his friends win the big prize?

Jonathan London’s endearing Froggy books teach young listeners valuable lessons about growing up through the humorous adventures of a plucky amphibian. It’s an exciting time for Froggy - his parents are taking him to summer camp! There, he’ll swim, practice archery, and make many new friends. He’ll also get into a little bit of swampy mischief.

Marlena de Blasi, best-selling memoirist of A Thousand Days in Venice, makes her remarkable fiction debut with this poignant tale. Deemed an illegitimate child by her royal Polish family, Amandine is abandoned as a baby at a French convent. As she grows, Amandine struggles to accept her orphaned state. She longs to put together the missing pieces of her identity, but as World War II engulfs Europe, her time to find answers may be running short.

Award-winning author Jim Murphy whisks you back in time to witness the disastrous 1871 Chicago fire. He depicts the tragedy so vividly, you can almost feel the scorching heat and hear the roar of the blaze as it reduces the bustling city to a smoldering wasteland.

Danny is a paisano, descended from the original Spanish settlers who arrived in Monterey, California, centuries before. He values friendship above money and possessions, so when he suddenly inherits two houses, Danny is quick to offer shelter to his fellow gentlemen of the road. Together, their love of freedom and scorn for material things draws them into daring and often hilarious adventures. That is, until Danny, tiring of his new responsibilities, suddenly disappears.

As detective Xavier Kilgarvan sorts through clues and rumors, facts and fantasy, he is united with his beloved Perdita in a perilous challenge - the case of The Bloodstained Bridal Gown. Twelve years after solving the mystery of The Devil’s Half Acre, Xavier has received an urgent plea for help. A young minister and a woman from his parish have been murdered. Their torn bodies are found in an oddly suggestive position: leaning tenderly upon each other on a sofa in the rectory. Yet something even stranger is discovered upstairs....

What does a little bear wear as he dances and plays his way through a sunny summer day? Young listeners will be fascinated as John McDonough's upbeat narration perfectly delivers this book's lilting, musical rhyme and joyful, exuberant rhythm that make Jesse Bear's day a pleasure for everyone.

Like other rock hopper penguins, Mr. Pin enjoys the icy weather in the South Pole. But he loves eating chocolate and solving mysteries more. When he moves to Chicago to be a detective, his new home is wonderful! Snowflakes swirl in the wind, and Sally from Smiling Sally’s diner gives him all the chocolate ice cream he can eat. Soon Maggie, Sally’s young niece, becomes his new friend. But Sally and Maggie are worried. Gangsters are threatening to blow up the diner. Will Mr. Pin be able to help them?

Froggy wakes up to a beautiful day. The sun is shining. Butterflies and birds fill the air. To top it all off, he and his father are going for a bike ride. Froggy hops out of bed - flop, flop - and gets dressed - zap, zip, zoop! Then he shouts, "I’m re-e-a-d-y!" But before they can go, Froggy must find his helmet. Then he can’t remember where he put his butterfly net. And he’s getting hungry. Will Froggy and his father ever go bike riding? Young listeners who sometimes lose their favorite toys or clothes will enjoy hearing about Froggy’s hilarious search for his mislaid things.

Cynthia Rylant explores the beauty and tenacity of life. Life begins small, then grows. There are so many wonderful things about life, both in good times and in times of struggle. Through the eyes of the world's animals - including elephants, monkeys, whales, and more - Cynthia Rylant offers a moving meditation on finding beauty around us every day and finding strength in adversity.

Long ago, when the world was new, the ostrich's neck was so short that he couldn't reach the succulent berries in the trees, and he had to sit on the ground to eat bugs. All that changed on the fateful day when the crocodile awoke with a terrible toothache that no one dared to help her with - no one, that is, but a naive and compassionate young ostrich. Compromising his own safety to help a needy stranger, he was rewarded with a most amazing surprise.

Young Lentil wants to learn to sing, but no matter how hard he tries he can’t sing on key. He can’t even pucker his lips to whistle! So Lentil learns to play the harmonica instead and beautifully carries his tune through the winding streets of Alto, Ohio. Lentil masters his craft just as the beloved Colonel Carter returns to town and the Alto residents decide to plan a special celebration. But Old Sneep, the grouch, doesn’t want anyone celebrating the Colonel’s homecoming. When Old Sneep stops the parade in its tracks, Lentil’s music turns out to be just what Alto needs.

This collection of short poems from Newbery Award-winning author Paul Fleischman delightfully celebrates the essence of birds. The companion to Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, its poems feature two voices speaking sometimes together and sometimes in turn. Experience the magic and magnificence of the immortal phoenix. Enjoy the fluttering elation of finches at dawn and the swiftness of swallows at dusk. And empathize with the loneliness of the pigeon in the Cincinnati Zoo.

No one in the town of Bonnyripple ever kept a grudge. No one, that is, except old Cornelius, the Grudge Keeper. Ruffled feathers, petty snits, minor tiffs and major huffs, insults, umbrage, squabbles, dust-ups, and imbroglios - the Grudge Keeper received them all, large and small, tucking each one carefully away in his ramshackle cottage. When a fierce wind blows through Bonnyripple, the residents are forced to rescue Cornelius and deal with their various disputes.

For the past 50 years, Paul Theroux has travelled to the far corners of the Earth - to China, Africa, the Pacific Islands, Russia, and elsewhere. In Deep South, he turns his gaze to a region much closer to his home. Travelling through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, he writes of the stunning landscapes he discovers - the deserts, the mountains, the Mississippi - and, above all, the lives of the people he meets.

Wizzil the witch is very, very bored. When her bossy parrot suggests that she find someone to bother, Wizzil turns herself into a fly and buzzes off to do some mischief to the funky Frimp family. But mischief has a way of backfiring, and one spell often leads to another. It’s not long before Wizzil has changed so much, she can hardly recognize herself. The zany witch’s misadventures, and the sunny conclusion to her story, will quickly have you laughing out loud.

A terrible secret is making the Ferocious Beast sit next to the River of Dreams and cry. Maggie and Hamilton Hocks want to help. "Tell us your secret and then you’ll feel better," they urge their sad friend. "Sometimes I get scared," the Ferocious Beast finally admits. But what could frighten a big, ferocious beast? Is it something worse than sea monsters, ghosts, and spaceships from another galaxy? These are the things that scare Maggie and Hamilton, even though they’ve never seen them. But how can they get the Ferocious Beast to tell them his fears?