Showing results by narrator "Kevin M Connolly" in All Categories

How do you define “growing up?” Does it mean you achieve certain cultural benchmarks - a steady income, paying taxes, marriage, and children? Or does it mean leaving behind the expectations of others and growing into the person you were meant to be? Here acclaimed author James Hollis guides you through 21 areas for self-inquiry and growth - such as how to exorcise the ghosts of your past, when to choose meaning over happiness, how to construct a mature spirituality, and how to seize permission to be who you really are.

To know your true calling - your dharma, as the yogis say - is perhaps the greatest desire within each of us. And yet, few can say we know our purpose with absolute certainty. Fortunately, there is a time-tested guide - an ancient map - for discovering and fulfilling your unique calling. In The Great Work of Your Life, Stephen Cope walks you through each step of the journey.

True leaders inspire us with their confidence, dedication, and track record of achievement - but does their success arise from innate gifts, or qualities that we all can develop? With The Four Virtues of a Leader, Eric Kaufmann presents a must-hear guide to help you awaken and amplify the fundamental competencies that every successful leader embodies.

When Carla brings weird sandwiches to school, her classmates have plenty to say about them. “That's sick!” says Leslie. “That's disgusting!” says Natie. But Carla thinks otherwise. “It's unique. It's creative.” Just like Carla. Although she is teased and even ignored by her classmates, Carla's strong inner sense of uniqueness eventually wins them over.

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: “So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. - Gabe” Ethan knows that the "someone" must be his little sister, Emma, who keeps climbing out of bed to play. She obviously needs a monster to help her get to sleep, but not his monster! Will Ethan lose Gabe forever?

With his art teacher's permission, Matty does a slime demonstration in class. But when the stuff won't stop spreading, Matty realizes that he forgot to bring the ingredient that magically turns glue and baking soda into slime! Now his demo is a disaster and Matty is stuck in an icky, sticky swamp. His creative classmates try to help but–PLIP! SWOOSH! KABOOM!—the swamp only spreads. How will Matty get out of this sticky situation?

As he leaves his small, Midwestern town behind and heads off to marine boot camp, young farm boy Kramer hopes his new life will dull the recent loss of his dearest friend. Years later, battle hardened and war weary, Captain Kramer rescues a pup at the scene of a horrific car bombing while deployed to Afghanistan, and a new friendship is born. Months later Kramer and his new friend, Shadow, are back home in California, recuperating from serious injuries received in a deadly ambush by the Taliban.

Despite some silly, sleepy mistakes, genteel Jackson finds a fun and quiet activity for each of his noisy neighbors. He finally gets a great night's sleep–and discovers three new friends in the morning.

During the holiday season, Jennifer Jacobs discovers that she is the only Jewish student in her class. She is thrilled and so creates The Only One Club, of which she is the only glittery-badge-wearing member. When her classmates want to join her exclusive club Jennifer at first resists, but she later realizes that each person is “the only one” at something. She makes glittery badges for everyone, and distributes them while revealing the quality that makes each friend “the only one”.

“What does Dudley do all day while we're away?” Sam wonders. Mom explains that Dudley does ordinary dog things: he eats, naps, guards the house, and plays. But in Sam's mind, Dudley's day at home is anything but ordinary. Delightful digital paintings depict the human activities Sam imagines Dudley is doing–which don't quite match Mom's explanations.

What was Captain doing in Dragon's sandbox? He was moping. Because he'd lost his ship. “Oh, no! I'll help you find it! Come on!” Dragon said. “Where are we going?” Captain asked. “To my cave! I know I have a map there somewhere.” Armed with a (toy watch) compass, a (paper towel tube) telescope, and a (handdrawn) map, Dragon and Captain set off on a great adventure.

If you think YOU have a busy schedule, take a look at Ernestine Buckmeister's weekly calendar: On Mondays she sculpts with Clay Lumpkin. On Tuesdays she does water ballet with Miss Goldfisher. On Wednesdays she knits with Mrs. Pearl Stitchem. On Thursdays she takes tuba lessons with Mr. Oompah. On Fridays she yodels with Little Old Lady Hoo. On Saturdays she studies karate with Grand Master HiYa! And on Sundays she practices yoga with Guru Prakash Pretzel.

Ben is short. Zip is shorter. One day while they are walking on the boardwalk, a sudden storm blows in. Frightened by the thunder, Zip disappears into the crowd. Pint-sized Ben tries to search for Zip, but all he sees are knees! Right knees, left knees, knees with sandy patches. Fat knees, bony knees, knees with bumps and scratches. Ben finds a higher spot. Now all he sees are bellies! He climbs the highest lookout on the beach—the lifeguard stand—and sees that the rain has chased everyone from the beach! Now how will Ben find Zip?

What do you do when your purple shirt is dirty, your favorite cereal is gone, and a tantrum gets you banished to your bedroom? You run away...to a pop-up tent in the yard...but just until dinner. The Day I Ran Away is a spirited yet soothing story for days when you feel like running away, and a sweet reminder that home is where the hugs (and cookies) are.

Carla loves to be different. So when her teacher announces an upcoming vision screening, Carla hopes she'll be the only kid in class to need glasses. To prepare for her new look, she starts wearing homemade funky frames to school each day. Turns out that the only one who needs glasses is Buster. But unlike Carla, Buster does NOT like to be different. He likes to blend in. When Carla concocts an ingenious plan to help Buster, it's clear to see that the power of friendship—and Carla's creativity—will save the day.

If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in - and that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy when his family gears up for some changes. The boy and his dragon bounce in their castle, duel with delight, and have an amazing time together...until they find out that their castle is a crib for a new baby. Huh? As soon as they get used to the news, the boy and dragon are back in roaring form, entertaining the infant with marching music, aerial acrobatics, and baby-bottle bowling. But merriment turns to mischief and mischief leads to consequences.

If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in. And that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy at the beach. Dad is busy sunbathing, and Mom is busy with her book, so the boy and dragon roam the beach together, flying a kite, braving the waves, and roasting marshmallows. But no one believes him when he shares the news of his magnificent dragon: Mom only hears the roar of the ocean, Dad thinks the dragon feather is a seagull feather, and know-it-all sis claims there's no such thing as a dragon.

Early in August 1937, a news flash came: A sea monster had been spotted lurking off the shore of Nantucket Island. Historically, the Massachusetts island had served as port for whaling ships. Eyewitnesses swore this wasn’t a whale, but some new, fearsome creature. As eyewitness account piled up, newspaper stories of the sea monster spread quickly. Across the nation, people shivered in fear.

Solid wax is somehow changed into light and heat. But how? Travel back in time to December 28, 1848 in London, England to one of the most famous juvenile science Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) encouraged kids to carefully observe a candle and to try to figure out how it burned. Known as one of the best science experimenters ever, Faraday’s passion was always to answer the basic questions of science: “What is the cause? Why does it occur?”