Showing results by narrator "Ramon de Ocampo" in All Categories

Darken Wood...even the name brings dread to humans. But it is home to Ansalon's centaur tribes, where they have dwelt for ages in peace under the Forestmaster's watchful eye. Now, 10 years after the Summer of Chaos, strife is tearing the centaurs apart. A mad chieftain seeks to overthrow his enemies, and an even darker presence is changing the forest itself. Trephas, a brave young warrior, sets out for Solace to seek aid agasint these enemies. He finds more than he bargained for in Caramon Majere, Hero of the Lance, and his spitfire daughter Dezra.

One week in late 1999, more than 50,000 people converged on Seattle. Their goal: to shut down the World Trade Organization conference and send a message that working-class people would not quietly accept the runaway economic globalization that threatened their livelihoods. Though their mission succeeded, it was not without blowback. In the oral history One Week to Change the World, award-winning journalist DW Gibson pieces together a complex and compelling account of what really went down in Seattle.

Gideon’s short-lived run as a locally famous boy detective ended when middle school started, and everyone else—including his best friend, Lily—moved on while Gideon kept holding on to his trench coat, fedora, and his treasured film noir collection. Now he’s sixteen and officially retired. That is, until Lily shows up suddenly at Gideon’s door, needing his help. He might be mad at her for cutting him off with no explanation, but Gideon can’t turn down a case.

The filming of an underwater TV show goes awry when the crew gets interrupted by a shark. Poor Shark, he wasn't trying to scare them, he's just misunderstood! Then he's accused of trying to eat a fish. Will Shark ever catch a break? After all, he wasn't going to eat the fish, he was just showing it his new tooth! Or was he? Explosively funny, extraordinarily clever, and even full of fun shark facts, this surprisingly endearing story gets to the heart of what it feels like to be misunderstood by the people around you.

The Middle School Rules of Brian Urlacher features the real-life childhood stories and exploits of young Brian Urlacher and illustrate how they shaped him into the world-class athlete he became. The first of The Middle School Rules series, these books not only entertain, but also inspire greatness in the next generation by highlighting the importance of being your best, overcoming adversity, and reaching your dreams through discipline and hard work.

In 2488, Battle Quest, an arrow shooting, sword fighting, magic slinging live action RPG, is the most popular sport in the universe. Tal works in a trash dump by day and fights in a street samurai pit by night. He dreams of becoming a Battle Quest pro to pull his sisters and grandmother from the slums. Problem is he’s too short, too broke, and his highlight vid-reel has more fails than an ogre’s got warts.

Dagoberto Gilb has won the PEN/Hemingway Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Sonny Bravo is a young Mexican American struggling to become a man while living with his mom and step-father in a small urban community known as the Flowers. There the assorted residents teach Sonny life lessons, even as racial tensions simmer in the city around them.

After suffering a serious heart injury, Lito Macaraeg reaches out to his estranged son—a journalist who lives in the United States, far from his father’s Manila nursing home—to promise him a scoop: the story of a secret meeting between Imelda Marcos and Corazon Aquino. Imelda, best known for her excessive shoe collection, was the flamboyant wife of the late Philippine dictator; Corazon was the wife of the opposition politician who was allegedly killed by the Marcoses.

Alcatraz Smedry, practically the world champion of breaking things, never thought his most boring birthday present—a bag of sand—would get him into this much trouble. Yet now he's fleeing from evil Librarians, releasing dinosaurs to create a diversion in the Fiction section, and learning that clumsiness can be a powerful talent!

Rocky Rivera arrives in the US from the Philippines the year that Jimi Hendrix dies. So begins a blazing coming-of-age story suffused with the tensions of immigration that finds Rocky moving from the counterculture of 1960s San Francisco to the extravagant 1980s Manhattan music scene. The Gangster of Love tells the story of the Rivera family as they make their new life in the States, all the while haunted by the memory of the father and the homeland they left behind.

Become your best self. Figuring out how to make friends, develop relationships, and be confident is a step-by-step process. Now help is available in Embracing the Awkward, written by the popular teen-advice YouTuber, The Josh Speaks. This isn't another dry instructional book written by a boring adult disconnected from the millennial reality; it's a guide, a workbook, an empowering step towards trying things out, discovering who you are, and becoming your best self.

A collection of 15 beloved Chinese myths, legends, and folktales that are rich in tradition and culture. Each story transports the listener back to ancient times and is filled with excitement, adventure, magic, and laughter.

Who doesn’t love a good Happily Ever After? The Cursed City is now the Blessed City, with its residents’ curses removed. Lena is now fully human, as are the rest of the giants, and together they live in peace with all the other humans in the city, all their differences now gone. And sure, Jin might have disappeared, but really, genie magic only caused trouble. At least, that’s what the magic spell in Lena’s head is telling her. But somewhere inside, she knows that this new world isn’t right, that no real Happily Ever After would take her giant heritage from her…and that Jin is in danger.

A trip to Washington, DC, turns into a perilous scramble through dark alleys and secret passages as Jake, Lucy, and TJ race to find the lost letters of Mary Lincoln before they fall into the hands of the Order of the Dark Lantern. What makes these letters so valuable to the Lantern? And how did the White House fall under control of this dark and powerful group? Another fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping thriller with all of the action, humor, and historical trivia that make the Jake and the League Series such a riveting adventure.

Alex and Ren's hunt for the Lost Spells takes them on a twisty and magical path, through false doors, and deep into underground tombs where they discover that The Order is planning something bigger than they'd ever anticipated....

We can be fragile creatures. We all stumble, fall and fail. In the process, we often lose the purpose and destiny that once empowered our lives. If a failure sidelined you, Rebound is a must-listen. Whether you left your faith to pursue your own way, are struggling under the weight of bondage or addictions, or are unable to break free of past hurt - even hurt caused by those closest to you - God wants to restore you.

Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter. If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc. Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past. Now they have something new: a friend. The portals, which gave them a way to fight back and to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that. They brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.

Sixteen-year-old Sierra has been so caught up in her own world of saving animal test subjects and her father's disappearance, she hasn't paid much attention. When she finally finds his location, she and her friend set off on a covert interplanetary mission to rescue him, and she begins to see the corruption firsthand. Discovering that her father has been on the front lines secretly trying to save human test subjects inspires her to join a revolution. But she is afraid of the collateral damage of hurting the people she loves.

Alcatraz Smedry has made it to the Free Kingdoms. Unfortunately, so have the evil Librarians - including his mother. Now all Alcatraz has to do is find a traitor among the Knights of Crystallia, try to be friends with his very unfriendly father, save one of the last bastions of the Free Kingdoms from the enemy, and get his friend, Bastille, reinstated as a real knight. No pressure!

For today’s teen, being able to communicate clearly in front of an audience is essential. From class presentations to interviews to online videos, an engaging talk can not only inspire and electrify a room, it can change people’s minds, and even change the world. Thank You for Coming to My TED Talk is the definitive guide to public speaking for a teen audience. Drawing from a teen’s day-to-day world - school, extracurriculars, online videos, college admissions procedures, bat and bar mitzvahs, debates, and more - head of TED Chris Anderson shares proven techniques.