The Hero Next Door

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Jul 2019 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Various

About this audiobook

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes another middle-grade short story collection--this one focused on exploring acts of bravery--featuring some of the best own-voices children's authors, including R. J. Palacio (Wonder), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Linda Sue Park (A Long Walk to Water), and many more.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes teach martial arts. Others talk to ghosts. A few are inventors or soccer players. They're also sisters, neighbors, and friends. Because heroes come in many shapes and sizes. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a better place.

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this vibrant anthology features thirteen acclaimed authors whose powerful and diverse voices show how small acts of kindness can save the day. So pay attention, because a hero could be right beside you. Or maybe the hero is you.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: William Alexander, Joseph Bruchac, Lamar Giles, Mike Jung, Hena Khan, Juana Medina, Ellen Oh, R. J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Ronald L. Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia, and short-story contest winner Suma Subramaniam


Audiobook Table of Contents:
FOREWORD by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, read by Adenrele Ojo
MINNOWS AND ZOMBIES by Rita Williams-Garcia, read by Caitlin Gold
ONE WISH by Ronald L. Smith, read by Dominic Hoffman
THE ASSIST by Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, read by Kirby Heyborne
HOME by Hena Khan, read by Erin Cahill
ELLISON’S CORNUCOPIA: A LOGAN COUNTY STORY by Lamar Giles, read by Kristen Ariza
RESCUE by Suma Subramaniam, read by Renee Dorian
THE SAVE by Joseph Bruchac, read by Chris Browning
LOS ABUELOS, TWO BRIGHT MINDS by Juana Medina, read by Laura Ortiz
THROWN by Mike Jung, read by Maxwell Glick
A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND by Cynthia Leitich Smith, read by Taylor Meskimen
EVERLY’S OTHERWORLDLY DILEMMA by Ellen Oh, read by Dylan Moore
REINA MADRID by Suma Subramaniam, read by Frankie Corzo
GO FISH by William Alexander, read by Mike Chamberlain

About the author

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the author of the 8th Grade Superzero, which was named an ILA Notable Book for a Global Society and an NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. She also writes nonfiction, including Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow and Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins. She is the coauthor of the middle-grade novel Two Naomis, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and is a Junior Library Guild selection, and its sequel, Naomis Too. She is a member of the Brown Bookshelf and the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. She has contributed to numerous anthologies for children, teens, and educators; holds an MA in education; and writes frequently on literacy-related topics for Brightly. Visit her online at olugbemisolabooks.com.