Your audiobook is waiting…
Father was a Wise Old Man
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Southern Bells
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 43 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17
When the Southern Bells brought the telephone to rural North Carolina, it looked like a "big black daffodil". What the telephone company had not counted on in conceiving its eight-party line service was a pair of "past-middle-age, unmarried sisters", the chatty Misses Lucy and Lena Leatherwood. Once the Leatherwood sisters were connected by the Southern Bells, nobody else on that line had a chance!
-
Mama Learns to Drive
- Stories That Celebrate Mothers
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
If you've ever been in the car while a loved one was learning to drive, then think of this as cheap therapy! Learning to drive has occasioned emotions ranging from reasonable caution to unbridled terror. Learning under the watchful eye of one's spouse is an added challenge. Undertaking the task with anxious children in the backseat can only heighten the sensory richness of the moment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So Funny!!! 😂
- By Leland on 05-03-16
-
Jack and Granny Ugly
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Growing up in North Carolina, Donald Davis heard stories that came to America through Scots-Irish immigrants about a fellow named Jack who was so real that young Davis thought he was a distant relative or otherside-of-the-mountain neighbor. Now Davis knows that Jack is a universal legendary figure who, by various names, is found in nearly every culture.
-
Rainy Weather
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 53 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
Traditional values abound in these hilarious stories from Appalachia: friendship, family, orderliness, humor, and delight in an especially inventive practical joke. In "Rainy Weather", a hound dog with more heart than sense wins everyone's admiration. "Uncle Frank Learns to Speak Polish" finds Davis' famous Uncle Frank making the most of a little foreign language. And, in "Uncle Frank Clean Up the Post Office", cleanliness is next to godliness, and it's also next to hilarity.
-
Listening for the Crack of Dawn
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 42
Donald Davis was born into a southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. He grew up listening to his father and his Uncle Frank tell stories of their boyhood, all the while taking in the details of his own childhood experience.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding stories. Outstanding Narrator
- By Robin on 04-15-03
-
Grandma's Boy
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.
-
The Southern Bells
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 43 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17
When the Southern Bells brought the telephone to rural North Carolina, it looked like a "big black daffodil". What the telephone company had not counted on in conceiving its eight-party line service was a pair of "past-middle-age, unmarried sisters", the chatty Misses Lucy and Lena Leatherwood. Once the Leatherwood sisters were connected by the Southern Bells, nobody else on that line had a chance!
-
Mama Learns to Drive
- Stories That Celebrate Mothers
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
If you've ever been in the car while a loved one was learning to drive, then think of this as cheap therapy! Learning to drive has occasioned emotions ranging from reasonable caution to unbridled terror. Learning under the watchful eye of one's spouse is an added challenge. Undertaking the task with anxious children in the backseat can only heighten the sensory richness of the moment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So Funny!!! 😂
- By Leland on 05-03-16
-
Jack and Granny Ugly
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Growing up in North Carolina, Donald Davis heard stories that came to America through Scots-Irish immigrants about a fellow named Jack who was so real that young Davis thought he was a distant relative or otherside-of-the-mountain neighbor. Now Davis knows that Jack is a universal legendary figure who, by various names, is found in nearly every culture.
-
Rainy Weather
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 53 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
Traditional values abound in these hilarious stories from Appalachia: friendship, family, orderliness, humor, and delight in an especially inventive practical joke. In "Rainy Weather", a hound dog with more heart than sense wins everyone's admiration. "Uncle Frank Learns to Speak Polish" finds Davis' famous Uncle Frank making the most of a little foreign language. And, in "Uncle Frank Clean Up the Post Office", cleanliness is next to godliness, and it's also next to hilarity.
-
Listening for the Crack of Dawn
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 42
Donald Davis was born into a southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. He grew up listening to his father and his Uncle Frank tell stories of their boyhood, all the while taking in the details of his own childhood experience.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding stories. Outstanding Narrator
- By Robin on 04-15-03
-
Grandma's Boy
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.
-
The Grand Canyon
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
If you have never ridden a mule along a 48-inch wide trail whose ledge drops off, in places, 700 feet to the Colorado River, straight down, you may have difficulty picturing the temporary insanity that leads otherwise responsible adults to sign away the remainder of their natural life expectancy just for the chance to see the Grand Canyon's natural beauty close-up.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good stuff!
- By marie l gage on 09-25-19
-
Dr. York, Miss Winnie, and the Typhoid Shot
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
In rural North Carolina, in 1951, despite parental reassurances, a typhoid shot hurt. It hurt even more when the children saw who would be administering the shot: Miss Winnie, a large, dictatorial nurse who had been "especially built by the nursing school so she would never blow away in a hard wind".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Donald Davis is always a super entertainer.
- By DQwannaB on 10-20-16
-
See Rock City
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12
"Years later," Donald Davis remember of his childhood," I came to realize that when you come from a long-dammed-up Scots-Irish gene pool it is an okay thing to wish for something, but it is not an OK thing to get it."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Donald on 05-21-03
-
Braces
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Braces hurt. Braces look funny. Braces are downright embarrassing. And just about the time you think they're going to feel normal, it's time to tighten them up again. Worst of all, most of us get braces just at that time of life when the last thing we want to do is to look conspicuous, to call attention to ourselves in any way. This new coming-of-age story employs storyteller Donald Davis' trademark descriptions and humor to address the question: is this worth all the pain and embarrassment?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another good story
- By Julie on 07-04-17
-
That's What Mamas Do
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Storyteller Donald Davis had a very sensible mother. She had a pretty good idea of what boys would do, so she was always on the lookout. As Davis later learned, always being on the lookout is what mamas do. His vigilant but gentle mother gave her son multiple gifts in life and, as we learn in the end, gifts that do not end with her passing.
-
Broken Bones
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Broken Bones is a double set of double stories. The first set is made up of a story Davis's grandmother told about the time his mother broke her arm - twice! The second story in the first set is about how his little brother's collarbone was broken - twice! The second set of stories concerns Davis' neighbors, the Leatherwoods, and explains what happens when two big brothers team up against two little brothers. It also tells us that fathers are always smarter than their sons!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful stories
- By Julie on 12-22-16
-
From Black and White to Living in Color
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10
There was a time during Donald Davis's college freshman year when he wasn't really sure if he wanted to claim his hometown of Sulpher Springs, North Carolina. But a boy by the name of Stanley Easter changed his mind. "The year after that," he recalls, "I did go home from college for Thanksgiving. In fact, I had now become so proud of where I was from that I could hardly wait to get home. I no longer had to lie about where I was from. The world of childhood was quickly becoming a dear place to visit."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I wept
- By Just the facts, Ma'am. on 10-21-17
-
Grandma's Lap Stories
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
From the heart of the Appalachian Mountains come these folktales and folk rhymes for young children. In this recording of timeless children's tales, Davis, one of our most gifted storytellers, weaves for a new generation the same tales his grandmother told him as he sat in her lap so many years ago.
-
Miss Daisy
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 13
An eccentric schoolteacher and a widow-lady babysitter are the heroines in these new digital studio recordings of Donald Davis' two all-time most-requested stories. "It was the 42nd year she had taught fourth grade", yet there was nothing routine about Miss Daisy or her methods. Rather than settle for textbook work (Miss Daisy left textbooks in the big closet) she took her class on a year-long imaginary world tour.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is how I wish my teacher would have been.
- By CICADA on 03-04-03
-
Uncle Frank Invents the Electron Microphone
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
In the hills of Appalachia, humor and wisdom are mixed up forever in funny, wise stories that seem to grow more lustrous with each telling. Here are two of the best: "Uncle Frank Invents the Electron Microphone", Appalachian folk wisdom rolled into one of Davis' funniest stories; "Uncle Frank and the Crown Feed Boys", Davis' legendary Uncle Frank teaches a couple of traveling salesmen the lesson of their lives.
-
Friends Come Back...and That's a Good Thing
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
The best friend of our youth has no replacement, ever. Though we may start out as "two peas in a pod", we often lose touch with one another. In this affecting tale of two adults who reclaim their childhood bond after 30 years apart, the comforts of friendship are affirmed with humor and wit.
-
Party People
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 56 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Two new Appalachian stories from the author of the award winning Listening for the Crack of Dawn; an ideal introduction to contemporary storytelling for adults. Both stories are based upon real people. In the first, a disastrous birthday enables a child to learn more than an adult possibly could. In the second, two unusual people live their conviction that people are more important than things.
Editorial Reviews
Lively fiddle music begins and is interspersed throughout these historical snippets when storyteller Donald Davis and his father visit the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. The displays of Americana remind the senior Davis of events in his life, which are relayed through Davis's matchless performance. When Davis sees a huge hypodermic needle, he recalls his bout of pneumonia. The buildup to the doctor's slapping him on the back and using the needle to pull the pneumonia from his lungs is perfect - listeners will find themselves breathless. The warm description of excited children seeing their stockings, each filled with an orange, a peppermint stick, and one penny for each year of the child's age, is ideal for today's kids.
Publisher's Summary
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars5
-
4 Stars4
-
3 Stars1
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars4
-
4 Stars3
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars5
-
4 Stars2
-
3 Stars1
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- B. Lowe
- 01-26-16
Memories
Brought back memories of days gone by. A heartwarming story we can all relate to.