Audiobooks by Maira Kalman

From the critically acclaimed artist, designer, and author of the bestsellers The Principles of Uncertainty, My Favorite Things, and Women Holding Things comes a moving meditation in words and pictures on remorse, joy, ancestry, and memory. Maira Kalman’s most autobiographical and intimate work to date, Still Life with Remorse is a beautiful, four-color collection combining deeply personal stories and 50 striking full-color paintings in the vein of her and Alex Kalman’s acclaimed Women Holding Things. Tracing her family’s story from her grandfather’s birth in Belarus and emigration to Tel Aviv—where she was born—Maira considers her unique family history, illuminating the complex relationship between recollection, regret, happiness, and heritage. The vibrant original art accompanying these autobiographical pieces are mostly still lifes and interiors which serve as counterpoints to her powerful words. In addition to vignettes exploring her Israeli and Jewish roots, Kalman includes short stories about other great artists, writers, and composers, including Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Gustav Mahler, and Robert Schumann. Through these narratives, Kalman uses her signature wit and tenderness to reveal how family history plays an influential role in all of our work, lives, and perspectives. A feat of visual storytelling and vulnerability, Still Life with Remorse explores the profound hidden in the quotidian, and illuminates the powerful universal truths in our most personal family stories.

Maira Kalman (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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Looking at Lincoln

Lincoln's legacy is everywhere - there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill. And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together. But who was he, really? The little girl in this video wants to find out. Among the many other things, she discovers our sixteenth president was a man who believed in freedom for all, had a dog named Fido, loved Mozart, apples, and his wife's vanilla cake, and kept his notes in his hat. Starred review. "Kalman's fond and bittersweet account of our lanky 16th president evokes both a schoolgirl crush and a Yankee's steely, sorrowful perspective on the price of freedom... Rather than pen a textbook profile, Kalman portrays heartfelt admiration through poignant imagery." - Publisher's Weekly "...as much a personal impression of Lincoln’s legacy as an informational biography." - Booklist

Maira Kalman (Author), Elizabeth Cottle (Narrator)

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Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything

Thomas Jefferson is perhaps best known for writing the Declaration of Independence - but there's so much more to discover. This energetic man was interested in everything. He played violin, spoke seven languages and was a scientist, naturalist, botanist, mathematician and architect. He designed his magnificent home, Monticello, which is full of objects he collected from around the world. Our first foodie, he grew over fifteen kinds of peas and advocated a mostly vegetarian diet. And oh yes, as our third president, he doubled the size of the United States and sent Lewis and Clark to explore it. Starred review. "Vibrant gouache paintings - some full-spread, some more intimate images - capture Jefferson’s family and colleagues, his interests and pursuits, his lavish home, and its inferior slave quarters. The voice is that of a curious child reporting fascinating research findings. The rangy tone, however, allows Kalman to supply a wealth of information... Playful but informative, as quick witted as Jefferson himself, this will...inspire young readers to learn more." - Booklist "Bits of historical context are included, but the focus here is on the man and his "pursuit of everything." ...Kalman's distinctive, bold-stroked gouache paintings keep the tone light and fresh, providing plenty of details that garner a closer look. Share this along with the author's picture-book biography of Abraham Lincoln, Looking at Lincoln (Penguin, 2012) to inspire young historians and artists alike." - School Library Journal

Maira Kalman (Author), Susie Berneis (Narrator)

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Why We Broke Up

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened. Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

Daniel Handler, Maira Kalman (Author), Khristine Hvam (Narrator)

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13 Words

Lemony Snicket, Maira Kalman (Author), Michael Emerson (Narrator)

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