Audiobooks by Suzanne Kamata

Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair

Squeaky Wheels: Travels with my Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair is a mother-daughter travel memoir woven with comparative culture and accessibility awareness. Kamata's adventures with her teen-who happens to be deaf, with cerebral palsy, and in a wheelchair-through subterranean Tennessee, to the islands of Japan, and to the top of the Eiffel Tower ultimately lead to a daughter's increasing independence, a mother letting go of expectations, and advocacy for travel which prohibits discrimination.

Suzanne Kamata (Author), Sanya Simmons (Narrator)

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A Girls' Guide to the Islands

Suzanne Kamata lived in Japan for more than half of her life, yet she had never explored the small nearby islands of the Inland Sea. The islands are noted for displaying artwork created by prominent, and sometimes curious, international artists and sculptors: Naoshima’s wealth of museums, including one devoted to 007, Yayoi Kusama’s polka dot pumpkins, Kazuo Katase’s blue teacup, and a monster rising out of a well on the hour in Sakate, called “Anger at the Bottom of the Sea”—to name a few. Spurred by her teen-aged daughter Lilia’s interest in art and adventure, Kamata sets out to show her the islands’ treasures. Mother and daughter must confront several barriers on their adventure. Lilia is deaf and uses a wheelchair. It is not always easy to get onto — or off of — the islands, not to mention the challenges of language, culture, and a generation gap.

Suzanne Kamata (Author), Suzie Athens (Narrator)

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Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters

Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team—a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father’s work in the US has come to an end, he’s moved back to his hometown in rural Japan. Living abroad has changed him, and now his old friends in Japan are suspicious of his new foreign ways. Even worse, his childhood foe Shintaro, whose dad has ties to gangsters, is in his homeroom. After he joins his new school’s baseball team, Satoshi has a chance to be a hero until he makes a major-league error. “A heart-warming story about a baseball player who learns that teamwork is much more important than being the star of the team. I loved the family dynamics and depiction of life, and especially baseball, in Japan.”—Shauna Holyoak, author of Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers (Hyperion, 2019) “An engaging, sports-focused, family-driven Japanese spin on the new-kid-in-school narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews

Suzanne Kamata (Author), Nicholas Richardson (Narrator)

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Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters

Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team – a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father’s work in the U.S. has come to an end, he’s moved back to his hometown in rural Japan. Living abroad has changed him, and now his old friends are suspicious of his new foreign ways. Even worse, his childhood foe Shintaro, whose dad has ties to gangsters, is in his homeroom. After he joins his new school’s baseball team, Satoshi has a chance to be a hero until he makes a major-league error. “A heart-warming story about a baseball player who learns that teamwork is much more important than being the star of the team. I loved the family dynamics and depiction of life, and especially baseball, in Japan.”—Shauna Holyoak, author of Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers (Hyperion, 2019) “Pop Flies really pops! A lively, fun, easy read that draws you in and keeps you guessing.”—Dori Jones Yang, award-winning author of The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball (SparkPress, 2017) “An engaging, sports-focused, family-driven Japanese spin on the new-kid-in-school narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews Sakura Medal longlist 2021 Parents Choice: Recommended 2020 American Book Fest Best Fiction award winner 2020

Suzanne Kamata (Author), Nicholas Richardson (Narrator)

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