The Real Education of TJ Crowley
Coming of Age on the Redline
An award-winning Scriptbook and audio drama for values, virtues, and moral formation (Ages 13–18; Grades 7–12).
A powerful "read + listen" experience well-suited for middle and high school classrooms, parishes, and adult study groups.
The Real Education of TJ Crowley pairs a professionally produced, full-cast audio drama with a companion Scriptbook designed to be read alongside the performance — a practical read-and-listen experience for today’s students and discussion groups.
Winner of the 2025 Audie Award, this helps students and communities engage hard history through story, dialogue, and shared listening.
Request evaluation materials, educator resources, or ordering support at GrainValleyPublishing.com .
Direct Publisher Price: $19.99 (regularly $22.99)
Available through this page.
Request evaluation / educator materials
At a Glance
  • Formats: Trade paperback Scriptbook + audiobook companion (Blackstone Audio)
  • Best for: Catholic secondary classrooms, parish formation, adult study
  • Themes: Moral courage, conscience formation, Human Dignity (Imago Dei), Solidarity
  • Setting: Wichita, Kansas, 1968
  • Recognition: Audie Award winner; IPPY Best Audiobook; AudioFile Earphones Award
About the Story
Set in Wichita in the summer of 1968, the story follows seventh-grader TJ Crowley as he navigates a divided neighborhood, a volatile home life, and a newly integrated school. When a Black family moves in next door, TJ is forced to confront inherited assumptions about race, belonging, and loyalty.
TJ is not Catholic — but his journey resonates with Catholic educators and faith leaders guiding young people through questions of justice, character, and community. His growth is not about easy resolutions, but about learning to recognize the dignity of others and to act with conscience when doing so carries a personal cost.
Combine Audio and Scriptbook for a Read + Listen Experience
This resource combines:
  • A full-cast audio drama featuring 15 actors and original gospel music by the ARISE Ensemble
  • A Scriptbook edition that allows readers to follow the dialogue and dramatic structure while listening
The format supports:
  • Close reading and attentive listening
  • Guided classroom or group discussion
  • Engagement across multiple learning styles
Educators can pause the audio at key moments to examine character choices, language, and ethical questions. The companion audio has been described by educators as “a movie for the ears”
Forming Conscience Through Story
The Real Education of TJ Crowley portrays moral formation as a lived process. As TJ notices the gap between inherited teachings and his own observations, he begins to ask questions that shape conscience over time.
  • Questioning what is considered “normal” in a divided community
  • Recognizing the neighbor as a person, not an idea
  • Persevering when the cost is real, choosing integrity over silence
This is a story well-suited for guided discussion about how moral understanding develops amid pressure and inherited beliefs.
What People Are Saying
Industry & Award Recognition
“Performed by a gifted cast, this slice of our history stays with the listener.”
— AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award)
“The YA Audie winner The Real Education of TJ Crowley will sweep you away to the turbulent times of the Civil Rights Movement… Replete with a full cast and exceptional sound design, plus gospel music from the ARISE Ensemble, it’s easy to see why this one was the winner.”
— Audible
“This immersive audio dramatization earned an Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine before capturing the much-deserved Audie… fast-paced, suspenseful, important, and revelatory.”
— Barnes & Noble
Educators & Classroom Impact
“TJ Crowley led my students to ask mature, challenging questions about their own communities, their own moral choices, and the history of our city. One of the best classroom experiences in my 17 years of teaching.”— Amanda Harcus, gifted educator, Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet (K-8)
“The Real Education of TJ Crowley is one of the most popular books in my classroom library. My students connect to TJ, Ivy, and their classmates in the way great books do: both entertaining and challenging them. The questions the book raises about race, class, and family resonate with young women and men encountering a world with injustice and conflict for the first time, just like the young women and men of the book.” -– Dave McIntire, Kansas History Teacher of the Year, Pembroke Hill School
“This is a book that demands discussion. Read it in a group and talk genuinely about history and its important connection to current society.”— Marguerite Penick-Parks, Ph.D., co-editor of Everyday White People and A Guide for White Women Teaching Black Boys
For Catholic Educational and Parish Contexts
The Real Education of TJ Crowley is an ideal resource for:
  • Catholic high schools and academies (Theology, English, Social Studies)
  • Parish book clubs and youth groups
  • Adult education and diocesan formation
Educator guides and discussion materials are available for institutional partners.
Advisory Note
Contains historically accurate racially offensive language and scenes of racial injustice. Recommended for mature teens and adults in guided settings, supported by an educator or facilitator.
Ordering Information
Direct Publisher Price: $19.99 (regularly $22.99)
Available through this page.
Bulk orders, classroom sets, and institutional pricing are available. Please contact us for diocesan, parish, or school partnerships.
Member of the Association of Catholic Publishers
Grain Valley Publishing is an independent press committed to stories that support empathy, historical understanding, and thoughtful dialogue. We provide narrative resources that complement Catholic education without requiring formal catechetical review, offering turnkey solutions—including scriptbooks and audio dramas—for immediate moral development and conscience formation. Through The Real Education Project, a nonprofit sponsored by NonProfitGO, we support and create listening-centered education in schools, parishes, and community settings.
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