Rubber Houses

Buy on Audible Listen on Spotify

by Ellen Yeomans

Kit is a typical teenage girl happily engaged in school and family life. She and her younger brother, Buddy, are deeply bonded, despite their age difference, connected by a love of baseball and math.

Then Kit learns that Buddy has been diagnosed with cancer.

The poems that follow capture both devastating loss and the beginnings of recovery in spare, lyrical verse that throbs with raw emotional power.

Author Ellen Yeomans
Narrator Chelsea Mixon
Length 1 hrs and 45 mins
© Copyright 2007 Ellen Yeomans
℗ Audio Copyright 2009 Full Cast Audio

Reviews:

“Chelsea Mixon voices Kit perfectly, doing a marvelous job of presenting the girl’s emotions without becoming maudlin. . . . this powerful novel handles a very difficult issue with great finesse.”
School Library Journal April, 2010

“In the spare language of free verse, Yeomans recounts the impact of a child’s fatal illness on the family left behind. Chelsea Mixon’s narration embraces the language, creating a story that is told primarily through emotion. The rest of the cast, who deliver the words of Buddy and his parents, friends, and doctors, enhance the story like chords building on a tune.”
AudioFile March, 2010

“A fine recording of a gentle book. ”
— Booklist March 1, 2010

Praise for the print version of Rubber Houses:

“Sixteen-year-old Kit’s normal, happy life is over when her younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia. A feisty eight-year-old kid who loves baseball, Buddy is Kit’s good friend and soul mate, one she is robbed of when he dies. Yeomans weaves the baseball metaphor throughout free-verse poems to trace Buddy’s decline to the poignant conclusion, “I’m calling the game.” Yet the baseball year–and the book–is only half over. Kit and her parents struggle through postseason bereavement to spring training and develop a way of living without Buddy. The interesting plot structure works surprisingly well with both the topic and the narrative style. It also enhances the realistic portrayal of a family, grief stricken and out of balance, struggling to come back after a losing season.”
Booklist


Listen to samples from this audiobook:
  1. Warm Ups (3:02) Ellen Yeomans 3:02
  2. MIA (2:05) Ellen Yeomans 2:05

Meet the Cast:
Mark Austin Dr. Harkness
Daniel Bostick Dad
Nathan Glyn Bostick Aziz
Bruce Coville Dr. Crane
Joshua Gutmaker Buddy
John LaCase Mr. Larkin
Andrea Leonard Facilitator
Bianca Lupi Callie
John Macri Coach Manz
Chelsea Mixon Kit
Conor Nolan Grocery Boy
Courtney Seymour Lydia
Karis Wiggins Mrs. Sheehan
Ellen Yeomans Mom
Directed by: Daniel Bostick
Posted in Audio Sample, Audiobooks, Catalog and tagged , , , , .