The powerful Newbury Award-winning classic.

A landmark in children's literature, winner of the 1970 Newbery Medal , and the basis of an acclaimed film Sounder traces the keen sorrow and the abiding faith of a poor African-American boy in the 19th-century South. The boy's life is changed forever when his father is caught stealing a ham to feed his starving family. His dog, Sounder, is wounded in the incident and waits faithfully for his master to come home. Read by Avery Brooks, this timeless and compelling parable will move listeners of all ages.

" Blues riffs and Brooks's soulful singing set the tone and enhance the tale. This bittersweet saga, richly told by Brooks, will remain in listeners' hearts and minds long after the final line is heard . "  --- AudioFile

William H. Armstrong grew up in Lexington, Virginia. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and did graduate work at the University of Virginia. He taught ancient history and study techniques at the Kent School for fifty-two years. Author of more than a dozen books for adults and children, he won the John Newbery Medal for Sounder in 1970 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1986.

Avery Brooks is an accomplished actor, director, musician, and teacher. His credits include the television role of Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . He served as the National Black Arts Festival's Artistic Director throughout the 1990s and is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at Rutgers University.