"There is a certain place where dumbwaiters boom, doors slam, dishes crash; every window is a mother's mouth bidding the street shut up, go skate somewhere else, come home."
     -From The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley

Hilarious and colorful episodes in the lives of families -- many depicted from a kid’s-eye-view -- are the theme for this compilation. Being part of a family is often trying, and stranger than any fiction, but never dull and always worth it in the end. Join these very different families as they face the shrinking of parents, the pre-emptive guilt of First Confession, the secret worlds of children, and more!

Track Listing:

Disc 1

1. Charles by Shirley Jackson
   Read by Lois Smith
   Laurie’s parents are dying to meet the most misbehaved boy in school.
2. First Confession by Frank O’Connor
   Read by Malachy McCourt
   A guilt-ridden Irish lad fears his first confession may be his last.

Disc 2

1. Solomon’s Big Day: A Children’s Story by Touré
   Read by Daniel Alexander Jones
   A little boy named Solomon escapes into the magical world of his paintings.
2. The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley
   Read by Linda Lavin
   This year’s Christmas pageant stars a Jewish girl.

Disc 3

1. A Life of Crime by Diane Leslie
   Read by Jill Eikenberry
   Love and passion, Hollywood style, from a girl’s-eye-view.
2. Pride and Joy Etgar Keret
   Read by Robert Sean Leonard
   A young man struggles to save his shrinking parents.
3. Boys by Rick Moody
   Read by B.D. Wong
   The world of boys.

About Selected Shorts

Selected Shorts is an award-winning series of classic and contemporary short fiction read by acclaimed actors. The readings are recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City and on tour around the country. The Selected Shorts radio series is a co-production of Symphony Space and WNYC, New York Public Radio, and is heard on public radio stations nationwide.