Flying Lessons & Other Stories

By: Ellen Oh - editor

Narrated by: Ellen Oh, Kwame Alexander, Meg Medina, Dion Graham, Samantha Quan, Julia Whelan, Adam Lazarre-White, Tim Tingle, Abigail Revasch, Sunil Malhotra, Dominic Hoffman

Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us.

In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers.

From these distinguished authors come ten distinct and vibrant stories.

Table of Contents & Cast of Narrators:
“Foreword,” written and read by Ellen Oh
“How to Transform an Everyday Hoop Court Into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium” by Matt de la Peña, read by Dion Graham
“The Difficult Path” by Grace Lin, read by Samantha Quan
“Sol Painting, Inc.,” written and read by Meg Medina
“Secret Samantha” by Tim Federle, read by Julia Whelan
“The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn” by Kelly J. Baptist, read by Adam Lazarre-White
“Choctaw Bigfoot, Midnight in the Mountains,” written and read by Tim Tingle
“Main Street” by Jacqueline Woodson, read by Abigail Revasch
“Flying Lessons” by Soman Chainani, read by Sunil Malhotra
“Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine Cents,” written and read by Kwame Alexander
“Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers, read by Dominic Hoffman
ABOUT WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS, read by Ellen Oh


"There's plenty of magic in this collection to go around." -Booklist, Starred

"A natural for middle school classrooms and libraries, this strong collection should find eager readers"
-Kirkus, Starred

"Inclusive, authentic, and eminently readable, this collection of short stories is an excellent addition for libraries and classrooms.”-School Library Journal, Starred

Critic reviews

“There’s plenty of magic in this collection to go around.” —Booklist, Starred

“A natural for middle school classrooms and libraries, this strong collection should find eager readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Inclusive, authentic, and eminently readable, this collection of short stories is an excellent addition for libraries and classrooms.” —School Library Journal, Starred

“Thought provoking and wide-ranging, this first anthology from WNDB should not be missed.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Whether or not middle-schoolers read the afterword . . . they are sure to agree that they need to read more books by these authors, whose storytelling styles and genuine feel for adolescent struggles and triumphs will inspire them to seek out their other work.” —The Bulletin, Starred

Outstanding content

I didn’t know what to expect when my daughter shared this audio from her library. It was terrific! I loved the short stories. They were attention grabbing and spell binding. The grandmother story was my favorite but I enjoyed all of them immensely. I can’t wait to ask my middle school grandson to listen to this book.

This book is a GEM of great worth.

Share this book with the young adult readers in your life. They will surely find at least one character they can identify with, but more likely many more. They will also gain insights that can help them live with understanding in a diverse world.

Perfect Examples of Growing Up Human

This is a captivating collection of stories for all people of all ages. There’s always a temptation to hold books labeled with diversity for particular months or particular lessons— please resist all such urges and just read the stories, which are especially perfect for every tween and teen you know.

Only 10 of 30 stories included in Audible version

The book is a fantastic collection of short stories, and I use it for my 8th grade English Language Arts classes, but the Audible version of the book only includes 10 of the 30 stories that are included in the original book format. When we read short stories like these in class, it's great to be able to have both text and audio, as my students are all ESL learners. I'm not sure why there is this limitation, either, because so many other Audible books are 12 hour or more in length, as this one would be if it included all the material. It's a bit misleading, and I'm a bit disappointed, but I still love the collection.