
The Lily Pond
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Amy Rubinate
About this listen
A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden.
A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: Her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again - under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.
Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself - she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected.
©2011 Annika Thor (P)2011 Listening LibraryListeners also enjoyed...
-
Orphan Train
- A Novel
- By: Christina Baker Kline
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.
-
-
Moving story of sharing and transformation.
- By Kathi on 04-03-13
-
Bleak Landing
- By: Terrie Todd
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the dead-end Canadian town of Bleak Landing, twelve-year-old Irish immigrant Bridget O'Sullivan lives in a ramshackle house and dreams of another life, even as the Great Depression rages. Routinely beaten by her father and bullied by schoolmate Victor Harrison, the waifish yet fiery redhead vows to run away and never return. Just a few short years later, run she does - fleeing the unspeakable repercussions of her father's gambling. In Winnipeg, Bridget lands a job at a garment factory, the first step on her journey to shed her past and begin anew.
-
-
So inspiring
- By AmazonCustomer on 01-18-18
By: Terrie Todd
-
Echo
- By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Mark Bramhall, David deVries, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Audie Award, Middle Grade, 2016. Lost and alone in the forbidden Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each become sinterwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together.
-
-
One of the best audio productions I have heard
- By tru britty on 07-28-15
By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
-
Secrets of a Charmed Life
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.
-
-
Rare 5-Star Across the Board!
- By Imamomof4 on 06-14-15
By: Susan Meissner
-
The Chaperone
- By: Laura Moriarty
- Narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
> The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both. Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip.
-
-
Perfection.
- By Amanda on 06-07-12
By: Laura Moriarty
-
The Gown
- A Novel of the Royal Wedding
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the internationally best-selling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the 20th century - Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown - and the fascinating women who made it.
-
-
Such a disappointment...
- By Cynthia in NoCO on 05-12-19
By: Jennifer Robson
-
Orphan Train
- A Novel
- By: Christina Baker Kline
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.
-
-
Moving story of sharing and transformation.
- By Kathi on 04-03-13
-
Bleak Landing
- By: Terrie Todd
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the dead-end Canadian town of Bleak Landing, twelve-year-old Irish immigrant Bridget O'Sullivan lives in a ramshackle house and dreams of another life, even as the Great Depression rages. Routinely beaten by her father and bullied by schoolmate Victor Harrison, the waifish yet fiery redhead vows to run away and never return. Just a few short years later, run she does - fleeing the unspeakable repercussions of her father's gambling. In Winnipeg, Bridget lands a job at a garment factory, the first step on her journey to shed her past and begin anew.
-
-
So inspiring
- By AmazonCustomer on 01-18-18
By: Terrie Todd
-
Echo
- By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Mark Bramhall, David deVries, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Audie Award, Middle Grade, 2016. Lost and alone in the forbidden Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each become sinterwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together.
-
-
One of the best audio productions I have heard
- By tru britty on 07-28-15
By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
-
Secrets of a Charmed Life
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.
-
-
Rare 5-Star Across the Board!
- By Imamomof4 on 06-14-15
By: Susan Meissner
-
The Chaperone
- By: Laura Moriarty
- Narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
> The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both. Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip.
-
-
Perfection.
- By Amanda on 06-07-12
By: Laura Moriarty
-
The Gown
- A Novel of the Royal Wedding
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the internationally best-selling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the 20th century - Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown - and the fascinating women who made it.
-
-
Such a disappointment...
- By Cynthia in NoCO on 05-12-19
By: Jennifer Robson
-
Homesick
- My Own Story
- By: Jean Fritz
- Narrated by: Jean Fritz
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place. While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment’s notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
-
-
Great book!
- By R. SEVERSON on 10-19-18
By: Jean Fritz
-
Too Much Happiness
- Stories
- By: Alice Munro
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the long title story, we accompany Sophia Kovalevsky - a late-19th-century Russian émigré and mathematician - on a winter journey that takes her from the Riviera, where she visits her lover, to Paris, Germany, and Denmark, where she has a fateful meeting with a local doctor, and finally to Sweden, where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician.
-
-
Each story should start on its own track
- By Shyguy123 on 01-04-16
By: Alice Munro
-
We Were Strangers Once
- By: Betsy Carter
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the eve of World War II, Egon Schneider - a gallant and successful Jewish doctor, son of two world-famous naturalists - escapes Germany to an uncertain future across the sea. Settling into the unfamiliar rhythms of upper Manhattan, he finds solace among a tight-knit group of fellow immigrants, tenacious men and women drawn together as much by their differences as by their memories of the world they left behind.
-
-
Nice story uplifting the 1930s refugee experienc
- By Chiti Kaunda on 05-06-18
By: Betsy Carter
-
The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury
- By: Marc Levy, Chris Murray - translator
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Pendelbury believes everything in her life is pretty much in order - from her good friends to her burgeoning career. But even Alice has to admit it’s been an odd week. Not only has her belligerent neighbor, Mr. Daldry, suddenly become a surprisingly agreeable confidant, but he’s encouraging her to take seriously the fortune-teller who told her that only by traveling to Turkey can Alice meet the most important person in her life. What’s more, the peculiarly insistent Mr. Daldry has even agreed to finance Alice’s trip - one that against all reason seems to be predestined.
-
-
Good story that is marred by poor narrator
- By Granny Rose on 02-26-19
By: Marc Levy, and others
-
Wonderful Town
- New York Stories from The New Yorker
- By: Woody Allen, John Cheever, E. B. White, and others
- Narrated by: Tyne Daly, Timothy Jerome, Joe Morton, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York City is not only The New Yorker magazine's place of origin and its sensibility's lifeblood, it is the heart of American literary culture. Wonderful Town, an anthology of superb short fiction by many of the magazine's most accomplished contributors, celebrates the 75-year marriage between a preeminent publication and its preeminent context with this collection of 44 of its best stories from (so to speak) home.
-
-
Great stories and readers, but technically sloppy
- By Alison on 09-08-04
By: Woody Allen, and others
-
The Flight of Gemma Hardy
- A Novel
- By: Margot Livesey
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned then neglected, young Gemma seemed destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands. But Gemma’s biggest trial is about to begin....
-
-
f you loved Jane Eyre, you will like this novel.
- By Cecilia on 02-09-12
By: Margot Livesey
-
Girl in the Blue Coat
- By: Monica Hesse
- Narrated by: Natalia Payne
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, her nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded. She likes to think of her illegal work as a small act of rebellion.
-
-
Author Tried Too Hard to Not Be Predictable
- By Lori J. Little on 06-13-19
By: Monica Hesse
-
The Girl from the Train
- By: Irma Joubert
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl's unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor.
-
-
Excellent story covering the middle of the 20th C.
- By john on 04-12-16
By: Irma Joubert
-
And Both Were Young
- By: Madeleine L'Engle
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Flip doesn't think shell ever fit in at the Swiss boarding school. Besides being homesick for her father and Connecticut, she isn't sophisticated like the other girls, and discussions about boys leave her tongue-tied. Her happiest times are spent apart from the others, sketching or wandering in the mountains. But the day she's out walking alone and meets a French boy, Paul, things change for Flip. As their relationship grows, so does her self-confidence. Despite her newfound happiness, there are times when Paul seems a stranger to her.
-
-
Classic coming of age story
- By Adam Shields on 08-01-12
-
The One I Was
- By: Eliza Graham
- Narrated by: Sue Pitkin, Michael Page
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Restless, troubled Rosamond Hunter has spent most of her life running away from the past, filled with guilt about her involuntary role in her mother's death. When her nursing job brings her back to Fairfleet, her childhood home, to care for an elderly refugee, she is forced to confront the ghosts that have haunted her for so long.
-
-
Unusually Beautiful Story
- By sharon on 12-18-15
By: Eliza Graham
-
As Bright as Heaven
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris, Tavia Gilbert, Jorjeana Marie, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters - Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa - a chance at a better life. But just months after they arrive, the Spanish flu reaches the shores of America.
-
-
As Bright as Heaven
- By Amazon Customer on 05-03-18
By: Susan Meissner
-
The Last Year of the War
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elise Sontag is a typical Iowa 14-year-old in 1943 - aware of the war but distanced from its reach. Then her father, a legal US resident for nearly two decades, is suddenly arrested on suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. The family is sent to an internment camp in Texas, where behind the armed guards and barbed wire, Elise feels stripped of everything beloved and familiar, including her own identity. The only thing that makes the camp bearable is meeting fellow internee Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American teen from Los Angeles.
-
-
Historical Fiction at its Best!
- By KAT M K on 04-06-19
By: Susan Meissner
What listeners say about The Lily Pond
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- john
- 01-28-12
Entertaining, touching, thought provoking.
Would you listen to The Lily Pond again? Why?
Yes, and I have recommended this book and Faraway Island to adults and friends with young adult readers in the family. Excellent read, quality of thought, quality writing, great stimulus for discussion of values.
What did you like best about this story?
This book and others, such as
Which character – as performed by Amy Rubinate – was your favorite?
Steffie: The story revolves around Steffie. She is a believable and likable character who shows growth through challenging experiences.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Amy Rubinate's reading helped make the characters come alive resulting in both tears and a bit of laughter.
Any additional comments?
I have found that books that ring true, as this series does, are worth discussing with young adult readers. The vicarious life experience allows for an honest discussion and exploration of values without preaching.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful