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Guy Lockard narrates this fresh and funny novel from Jason Reynolds. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Neon, the novel moves backward over Neon’s past 24 months. As he prepares to celebrate his anniversary with his girlfriend, Aria, he reflects on everything that has happened since they first met. From work to school to family, Neon’s life is average but warm and loving.... Read More

Acclaimed author Jason Reynolds nimbly narrates his celebration of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. Based on a picture of a real party in Hughes's honor at the Schomburg Center, this loving tribute is alive with rhythm. As Reynolds describes how Hughes excelled at making words dance to his tune, he makes his own words dance. He creates an irresistible feedback loop... Read More

Guy Lockard is the energetic and enthusiastic heart of this new Stuntboy adventure, narrated by a talented cast with lively music and goofy sound effects. All action takes place in Portico’s building, where he lives with his parents and Gran Gran. At least, they used to all live together—now Portico’s parents have split up. While on his way from his mom’s apartment to his... Read More

Guy Lockard takes the mic as narrator while Nile Bullock voices high school student Miles Morales, who's "Boriqua and Black and Brooklyn as hell." He's also Spider-Man. But this adventure finds Miles stuck in in-school suspension after leading a protest against his racist history teacher's revisionist lessons. Even in suspension, though, Miles's Spidey-sense tells him... Read More

Author Reynolds and artist Griffin shine as they co-narrate this poetic memoir, which riffs on friendship, courage, self-expression, and coming of age. In the early 2000s, the roommates set off for Brooklyn to pursue their creative dreams. There, they struggled to balance family concerns and self-doubt with the desire to be recognized and make a difference. As the pair look... Read More

How do you create an amazing audiobook from an illustrated novel in which the vibrant art takes center stage? Author Jason Reynolds deftly narrates “Take One” of this collaboration between himself and mixed-media collage artist Jason Griffin. Together, they bring slam-poetry sensibilities to a brief yet evocative glimpse of an unnamed young Black narrator. His mother stays... Read More

With endless energy, verve, and style, Guy Lockard is a total superstar narrating this middle-grade novel about Portico Reeves, aka Stuntboy. Supported by a lively cast and a dynamic production, Lockard tells Portico’s origin story—Portico loves life in his apartment building, but every time he catches his mom and dad arguing, he feels “the frets” (cue the red-alert sound... Read More

How better to communicate this vital history of racism in America to its young audience than to have the audiobook narrated by a peer? Nine-year-old Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem Jackson hits it out of the park with her lively and engaging reading. Her voice and delivery are unmistakably those of a kid—and she's an inspired casting choice. Short chapters, ideal for listening to one at a... Read More

Narrator Cary Hite offers an engrossing and resonant performance of this young adult adaptation of the life of Paul Robeson. Due to his radical civil rights activism, Robeson's legacy as the first internationally renowned Black actor and singer has been largely downplayed. Listeners will follow Robeson's triumphs as an all-star athlete, valedictorian, lawyer, and stage actor,... Read More

Jason Reynolds wrote and now narrates a vital and compelling young reader’s remix of Kendi’s STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING. Together, they have created essential listening for younger listeners, those who are raising them, and their teachers. Kendi himself narrates the introduction, setting a serious tone and clearly explaining segregationist, assimilationist, and antiracist... Read More

Ten African-American narrators read these ten interconnected stories, and their performances are uniformly excellent, bringing the cast of characters to vivid life. Listeners follow the varied adventures of students as they walk home from school. In "Call of Duty," read by Kevin R. Free, Bryson stands up for a boy who gets kissed by another boy at school; in "Satchmo's Master... Read More

Exuding attitude with every syllable, narrator Guy Lockard brings the Track series across the finish line with this concluding volume. Lu is the fast, flashy "fine-o albino" co-captain of the Defenders track team. But lately he's been stumbling over hurdles both on and off the track. As Lu's understanding of family and integrity deepen, Lockard's energetic narration conveys the... Read More

Sunny is the third winning character in Jason Reynolds's Track series. Sunny has always seemed to have a bright disposition, that is, until the day he inexplicably gives up on winning a track race. The move isn't inexplicable to listeners, for narrator Guy Lockard reveals Sunny's true thoughts and feelings as written in his journal. Lockard's voice clouds as Sunny recounts how... Read More

Jason Reynolds performed this poem at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Now he brings its stirring words to audio, his voice as rich as his powerful message. He wrote this lyrical letter when he believed he might never succeed. At this low point, he speaks to himself, and to "every one" ready to give up dreams. His deep voice is as... Read More

Miles Morales may be Spider-Man, but his real challenge is dealing with a teacher who seems determined to expel him from prep school. Guy Lockard narrates this coming-of-age story of a young man who is learning to understand his familial, racial, and cultural roots while struggling with becoming a man, grappling with discrimination, and figuring out his superpowers. Lockard's... Read More

This novel in verse, made to be read aloud, makes a compelling case for gun control. Its potency is increased by the narration of author Jason Reynolds, which buoys listeners through the intense linked stories. Three poems into Will Holloman's first-person narrative, one learns about his brother. Shawn is funny, tells stupid jokes, and "was shot . . . and killed." Reynolds... Read More

Narrator Heather Alicia Simms animates the complex character of Patina (Patty), the heroine of Jason Reynolds's second Track book. Simms depicts the overwhelmed feelings of a girl who has suffered much in her young life. Now that her beloved father has died, she must live with her aunt and uncle, helping to care for her younger sister while her diabetic mother recovers from an... Read More

Narrator Guy Lockard captures the emotions in this story. Middle-schooler Castle (nicknamed “Ghost”) has been running for three years. It all began the night his father threatened him and his mother with a gun. But running takes on a different meaning when he’s recruited for a track team coached by a former Olympic recruiter. Lockard maintains a good balance between the story’s... Read More

Narrator Guy Lockard’s impressive command of dialect and intonations enlivens the author’s humor. His voice animates the rural African-American setting of this story and actualizes the characters of 11-year-old Genie and his older brother as they spend a month with grandparents they hardly know. Lockard’s portrayal of Genie is seasoned with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.... Read More

Two talented narrators portray the alternate realities of two teenagers involved in a complex situation. Rashad, an artistic African-American, is savagely beaten by a policeman. Hospitalized, with internal bleeding, he wants only to be left alone. Narrator Guy Lockard shifts briskly between Rashad’s tormented thoughts and the intrusions of the well-meaning people who surround... Read More