Sauerkraut
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Sauerkraut Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Kelly Jones (Author), Ron Butler (Narrator), Listening Library (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
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Washington State Book Award

A new quirky-funny book from the author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer about a boy whose plans for the summer go sideways when the ghost of his great-great-grandmother demands his attention.

HD Schenk is a maker—an inventor, someone who builds cool stuff. He's got a plan for the summer: He'll build his own computer and enter it in the county fair. Then everyone will know who he is and what he can do.

To earn enough money for the parts he'll need, HD has promised to clear out his uncle's overflowing basement. No big deal, right? But there's more in that basement than HD bargained for. On his first trip down there, a voice only he can hear starts talking to him. About...sauerkraut?

Who knew the ghost of his great-great-grandmother was haunting an old pickling crock? She's got a grand plan, too. She wants HD to help make her famous recipe for sauerkraut and enter it in the county fair so that she can be declared pickle queen.

After some initial shock, HD is willing enough to help. This ghost is family, after all. But only HD can really see and hear his Oma, which is going to make it hard for her to win on her own....

Kelly Jones spins a wonderfully goofy ghost tale that celebrates creative problem solving, family ties, and makers of every variety.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    5 hours and 54 minutes
  2. Author
    Kelly Jones
  3. Narrator
    Ron Butler
  4. Audible release date
    September 10, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Listening Library
  7. ASIN
    B07VPQWWHQ
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 5 hours and 54 minutes
Author Kelly Jones
Narrator Ron Butler
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 10, 2019
Publisher Listening Library
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07VPQWWHQ
Best Sellers Rank #355,089 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#717 in Scary Stories for Children
#2,176 in Family Life Fiction for Children
#2,483 in Humorous Fiction for Children

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
33 global ratings
Silly, spooky, fun
4 Stars
Silly, spooky, fun
This is such a fun and silly book for kids, but I’ll admit that I enjoyed it myself. What if the ghost of a relative haunted you into entering and winning a contest with a family recipe? That’s exactly what happens in Sauerkraut. It’s a goofy ghost tale that is a lot of fun to read and shows the lengths we sometimes go to for our family.
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Top reviews from the United States

Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great book!!!
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Pop Bop
4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone Is So Darn Nice
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
This is a rambling, quirky, multi-cultural, shaggy dog summer tale that celebrates the basic goodness of people, family, and friends. Not to put too fine an edge on it, but it strikes me that there's room for that sort of message on the shelf, especially when it's not at all syrupy or preachy, and has a fair share of funny and clever bits and scenes.

This isn't a ghost story, except for the basic setup and some hijinks. HD's ghostly great-great-grandmother could just as well be his living grandma - you'd have the same story, just without the magicky touch that adds a little spice to the tale. What it is is a story about friendship, loyalty, responsibility, and the thrill and satisfaction of making things. HD makes computers and Grandma makes sauerkraut, but makers are makers.

You know you're in multicultural territory when your main character is a Black kid named Hans Dieter Schenk. HD has a breezy relationship with his background, and casual cultural crossovers set the tone for all sorts of unexpected relationships. Interestingly, but little noted, there are also all sorts of cross-generational friendships. This is the sort of book in which HD's best friend can be his contemporary and his second best friend is the old guy he visits at the assisted living home. Again, all of this treated as unremarkable.

Add in a mixed but rock solid family unit. (HD's parents are consistently understanding and supportive.) Then make every single character in the book, (right down to unnamed characters with one line of dialogue), decent, patient, kind, and caring. And it isn't sappy. It just feels normal and right. And it leaves lots of room for gentle humor, funny banter between HD and his pal, some slapstick bits, and even some suspense at the end.

So, if you're looking for a funny, mellow, just slightly magikal, modern-oldfashioned middle school summer read - well, here you go.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
3 people found this helpful
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dnkb
5.0 out of 5 stars When a ghost wants your summer...
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Kelly Jones spins a tale about the joys of summer, the woes of creating, and the unexpected problems that crop up when the ghost of your ancestor pops up wanting you to spend your entire summer making pickled cabbage. HD Schenk has a Black mother, a German father, and a summer spent with his best friend clearing out his uncle's basement in order to make money. His money is going to be spent buying the components to build a computer--and after that, his plan is to enter it into the county fair. Nothing can go wrong with that! Except for a ghostly form emerging from an old pickling crock, and a voice asking him about sauerkraut....

Thus begins HD's wild summer, filled to the brim with humor, awkward moments (try introducing your great-great-grandmother to residents of a retirement home when they can't hear or see her?), frustrations (Oma, which is what his great-great-grandmother insists HD call her, insists that HD spend his entire assisting her in her pursuit: to make her award-winning sauerkraut and win first place at the county fair), and the joys of family closeness. HD and his best friend, Eli, have a huge community of supportive friends and relatives willing to help them realize their dreams, but none of their friends ever lets the boys off easily. HD and Eli still have to earn their privileges and sometimes learn lessons the hard way.

Sometimes life can be difficult, and sometimes older people still don't understand the needs of the younger generation (and occasionally the people who can't understand the MOST, are ghosts). This is a lesson that HD learns throughout the summer, as he acquires the patience to deal with his demanding Oma, and the grace to interact compassionately with someone who has been dead for decades. The novel doesn't flinch from depicting Oma as an occasionally crotchety old woman who places her own needs above the living, and who does not understand that other people not only have their OWN lives, they have, well, LIVES.

A memorable cast of characters rounds out the novel, with interesting and varied members of the community who support HD and Eli. Everyone has his or her own lives and narrative, touched upon and expanded upon when needed. No one is shallow or two-dimensional, but the novel isn't too crowded. The main characters mostly revolve around HD, Eli, and HD's family.

The core of the novel revolves around how a caring family and community rally around the members who need some support, and how they offer it. A charming novel about how HD navigates his burgeoning adulthood and the responsibilities to himself and his dreams, and his capacity to assist others in theirs. The writing is fun, accessible, and both boys and girls will be able to enjoy its themes.
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Jeni E
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun book for late elementary school students
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This is a cute story. It seems most appropriate for 9-10 year olds. I have been reading it aloud with my 8 year old son and he likes it so far.
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Jeni E
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun book for late elementary school students
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019
This is a cute story. It seems most appropriate for 9-10 year olds. I have been reading it aloud with my 8 year old son and he likes it so far.
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Miss Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars HD intends to clean the basement - and so it begins
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
HD got more than he bargained for when he agreed to clean out his uncle’s basement in order to earn some much need cash. He wants to purchase components to build a computer to win the prize at the fair. Unfortunately, he unearths the spectral ghost of his Oma who has plans of her own. Specifically, to win first place in the sauerkraut contest. How the two – a land locked boy and a great-great-grandmother who’s passed away and is long gone interact is the basis of this wildly entertaining story.

There’s a wonderful family dynamic as well as interfacing with community and friends. There’s undercurrents of multi-culturalism, multi-racism, mental health, aging but they’re all secondary to the great story that author Kelly Jones and crack on illustrator Paul Davey have given us. If you have a child in your circle that’s in the 8 – 12 age group get them a copy of this fun book.
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Shannon Zolar
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun book
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This book looks so interesting and fun I had to get it for my daughter. She is always inventing things and planning for big successes. I hope this inspires her to keep having fun with it. Plus she loves to read. Win win
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LifePathin4D
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended book
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This one is a fantastic read. Combine an average kid who is of mixed race & culture and the Spirit of his great-great-grandma who team up for a project so he can earn some money and you get a great story with lots of hidden messages behind the story. This story is much "deeper" than it appears so keep a sharp eye on what you read to spot the lessons it is aiming to teach you. It's well written and fun to read. I would suggest this book for pre-teen to teen and even as an adult I found myself caught up in the story. It's a feel-good fun little plot with lots to offer. 4 stars!
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Top reviews from other countries

Alexandra
5.0 out of 5 stars Good work
Reviewed in Italy on June 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
Good work! Nice to read, bittersweet.
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