Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.

Minnesota author and dog musher Gary Paulsen reflects on the growth of his sled dogs as he and his animals discover the world around them.

Fourteen-year-old Kevin impetuously announces that he will run for student body president, mainly to impress his girlfriend Tina, but soon gets excited about making a positive difference in his school and community.

The author recalls his experiences as a migrant laborer and carnival worker after he ran away from home at age sixteen.

When a little boy spends Christmas with his dying cousin, they discover that Santa really does exist.

Fifteen-year-old Wil discovers himself and the wonders of nature when he leaves home to live on an island in northern Wisconsin.

When David goes out on his sailboat to scatter his recently deceased uncle's ashes to the wind, he is caught in a fierce storm and must survive many days on his own as he works out his feelings about life and his uncle.

While backpacking in the desert, thirteen-year-old Mark falls into a tube of blue light and is transported into a more primitive world, where he must use his knowledge and skills to survive.

Gary Paulsen takes listeners along on his maiden voyage, proving that ignorance can be bliss, as well as incredibly dangerous. He tells of boats that owned him, good, bad, and beloved, and how they got him through terrifying storms that he survived by sheer luck. His spare prose conjures up shark surprises and killer waves as well as moonlight on the sea, and makes listeners feel what it's like to sail under the stars or lie at anchor in a tropical...

When supremely organized seventh-grader, Molly McGinty, loses the notebook she relies on to keep her life in order she spends the day in chaos.