A Long Walk to Water (by Linda Sue Park) app for iPhone and iPad

In 1985 southern Sudan is ravaged by war. Rebels and government forces battle for control, with ordinary people —people like the boy, Salva Dut— caught in the middle. When Salva’s village is attacked, he must embark on a harrowing journey that will propel him through horror and heartbreak, across a harsh desert, and into a strange new life.

Years later, in contemporary South Sudan, a girl named Nya must walk eight hours a day to fetch water. The walk is grueling, but there is unexpected hope.

How these two stories intersect is told in this fascinating dual narrative, performed by David Baker and Cynthia Bishop, with the assistance of dialect coach James Achueil . . . who actually made the same journey across Africa when he was one of the “Lost Boys of the Sudan.” This true story is an amazing adventure with a wonderful conclusion.

About Full Cast Audio

Full Cast Audio (FCA) has a simple mandate: to produce unabridged recordings of fine childrens novels using a full cast rather than a single reader. Whenever possible, we invite the author to serve as narrator. Our recordings are always unabridged—the only things deleted from the text are those attributives ("he said", "she growled", etc.) made unnecessary by having a full complement of actors.

Bruce Coville, founder of the company, did pioneering work in this form during the five years that he partnered with Listening Library to produce and direct recordings for "Bruce Covilles WORDS TAKE WING Fantasy Audio". Among the authors whose work appeared under the WTW logo were Lloyd Alexander, Patricia C. Wrede, Elizabeth Winthrop, Natalie Babbitt, Brian Jacques, and Philip Pullman.

This app is part of, and makes use of, the Folium Stellar™ network.

• PLAYER CONTROLS. Includes listen (play), pause, multi-speed fast forward/reverse, jump ahead/back, chapter skip, one-touch chapter- and bookmark browser. There is also a “scrub” bar that finds any point inside the chapter with just a tap.

• SLEEP TIMER. Have you ever fallen asleep watching TV or listening to something? If so, youll love this feature. Once set, the app will stop, place a bookmark, and allow you to jump back to where you probably began dozing.

• CLEAR & ELEGANT DESIGN. Simple, clean, intuitive, and smarter than average.

• CHAPTER TIMINGS. Always know how much time it will take to finish a chapter.

• OFFLINE LISTENING. You are airplane-ready! Once downloaded, listen uninterrupted without threat from a lost network connection. Downloads are usually just 5-10 minutes, but depend upon your network speed.

• AUTO-BOOKMARKING. The player remembers where you stopped listening and returns to that exact spot when you open the app again.

• SOCIAL SHARING. An easy way to recommend the app to your friends.