honesty, empathy, and respect for young listeners. In Phoenix by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, narrator Emma Ladji brings warmth and steadiness to

young Harper’s story as she navigates her parents’ divorce, shifting

friendships, and the rescued horse who becomes central to her new life. Karise Yansen’s calm, measured narration of Matthew Fox’s The Lovely Dark grounds a lyrical story of grief, loss, and the afterlife in vivid emotional reality. And in Tae Keller’s When Tomorrow Burns, a seamless ensemble cast—Eddy Lee, Annie Q. Riegel, Sara Matsui-Colby, Emily Woo Zeller, and Tae Keller—captures the uncertainty and intensity of middle school friendships unfolding against the backdrop of climate anxiety and change. Together, these audiobooks recognize that middle-grade kids confront complicated situations and deserve stories that speak to those uncertainties with honesty and care.

Sara Matsui-Colby, and Emily Woo Zeller (Listening Library)

audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.