Summer is well underway
and chances are many of you will find yourselves in the car for an extended
period of time. Long car rides can get boring for everyone, but families, in
particular, often face the challenge of endless “are we there yets?” and
“he’s bothering me” and “waaaaaaaaa,” etc., ad infinitum. To keep your
kids engaged, or, at the very least distracted, try listening to an audiobook
that will entertain the whole family. Many beloved series can feel like a
whole new experience when listened to on audiobook. The best audiobook
narrators are superb actors who can slip in and out of different character
voices without the listener noticing, and some audiobooks feature a full cast
who will voice-act the whole book.
The Wellesley Free Library has a large selection of audiobooks on CD, as well as on Playaway audio players, which can be connected to your car’s sound system using an auxiliary (AUX) cord. Don’t forget to check out the library’s digital catalog featuring an ever growing selection of digital audiobooks that you can download to your smart phone.
Here are some recommended
audiobooks for families with kids of all ages to get you through the long hours
on the road.
Llama
Llama
books by Anna Dewdney
Anna Dewdney herself reads
several of her pleasingly rhymed story books about little Llama and his
adventures navigating the world of sharing, shopping with mama, bedtime and
preschool bullies. Each book runs about 4 minutes long, which is just enough to
distract your toddler from the meltdown he/she may be having in the back seat.Ideal for kids aged 18 months - 3 years old.
The
Three Little Pigs by
James Marshall
Read by a hilarious
gentleman who sounds alarmingly like the actor who plays Dumbledore in the
Harry Potter movies (It’s not him, I checked!) , this humorous version of the Three
Little Pigs runs for about 11 minutes and will keep your 2- 4 year olds
silent and engaged. I know it does not sound like a long time, but it works
wonders for breaking up moments of tension brought on by boredom in the car. Ideal for kids aged 3-6 years old.
Betsy-Tacy
by Maud
Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Tacy first meet
at Betsy’s fifth birthday party and become such close friends that everyone
starts to think of them as one person: Betsy-Tacy. This is a very sweet and
charming series about two kids having adventures in their neighborhood in the
early part of the 20th century. Betsy-Tacy is the first book in a series
that takes you through the girls’ lives all the way up to their weddings. It will
appeal to fans of The Penderwicks, Ivy and Bean, and Little House on
the Prairie. Look for the audiobook read by Broadway and television
actress Sutton Foster. Ideal for kids aged 5 and up.
Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
It doesn’t matter if you
have already read these books, the Little House on the Prairie series,
as performed by the actress Cherry Jones, will appeal to your entire family.
Kids as young as five can enjoy this series, as Wilder did her best to provide
almost non-stop action, particularly in the first two books: Little House in
the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. The many descriptions
of Pa’s fiddle playing are enhanced by an actual fiddle performance, which,
combined with Jones’ rich narration, makes for a listening experience filled
with nuance and wonder.
Ideal for kids aged 5 and
up.
What
happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb
11-year old Mo Wren has
lived on Fox Street her whole life with her father and her little sister. Every
year, Mo looks forward to when her best friend Mercedes comes to stay with her
grandmother across the street. One summer, a series of unexpected changes and
mysterious happenings threaten to change the world as Mo knows it. The
combination of an interesting plot and lovable, fully realized characters make
this an unforgettable and bittersweet tale about growing up. Ideal for kids aged 7-12.
Okay
for Now and The
Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Schmidt's two coming of
age novels about middle school boys are absolutely stellar. The Wednesday
Wars focuses on Holling HoodHood, a seventh grader who has to spend
Wednesday afternoons alone with his teacher while his classmates attend
religious instruction. Unable to understand his teacher, Mrs. Baker, Holling is
convinced that she hates him. It is 1967 in suburban upstate New York and the
world feels on the verge of exploding. Schmidt manages to weave together many
themes in this thoroughly moving and entertaining book.
If The Wednesday Wars is good, Okay for Now is
outstanding. Middle schooler Doug Swieteck doesn’t care if you like him or not.
A tough kid from a tough family (who also plays a part in The Wednesday Wars), Doug goes into
every situation assuming that people think the worst of him. When he
discovers an affection for the work of John James Audubon and develops a slow
friendship with Lil Spicer, a girl in his town, Doug starts to open up, little
by little, and we are reminded that there is usually much more to “troubled”
kids then we may realize. This book will simultaneously break and warm your
heart. Both audiobooks are narrated well by young male actors.
Ideal for kids aged 11 and
up. I hardly need to tell you what this series is about. By now, most people know the story of Harry Potter, whether they have read the books or not. What you may not know is how wonderful the audiobook versions are. Actor Jim Dale narrated all seven books and developed detailed and distinct voices for each of the many, many characters in Rowling’s story. No matter how well you or your kids know the books, I can promise that these audio versions will sweep you away and provide a new Harry Potter experience.
Ideal for kids aged 10 and up. (This is my humble opinion, but the perfect age for Harry Potter is constantly up for debate).
A full cast acts out the many narratives in this wonderful, harrowing recreation of the doomed voyage of the Titanic. Featuring a wide variety of stories, from the captain of the ship all the way down to a bilge rat, The Watch that Ends the Night is an unforgettable experience that will entertain kids and their grown ups. Be warned that it is harrowing, as not all of the voices survive. Descriptions of the recovery of bodies frozen in the sea are featured throughout and may upset younger or more sensitive listeners. However, older elementary-aged kids familiar with the Titanic and other large scale disasters will be enthralled with this well-done story.
Ideal for kids aged 11 and up.
Countdown and Revolution share some characters but are two separate stories told during pivotal moments in 1960s America. Countdown centers around Franny Chapman’s experience living in Maryland in 1962, as the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis play out. Revolution takes place in Greenwood, Mississippi during the summer of 1964, otherwise known as the Freedom Summer. Twelve year-old Sunny is thrust into the middle of the tumultuous events of that summer as volunteers pour into town to help register black voters. The volunteers are met with considerable resistance and violence from the townspeople--many of whom Sunny has known her whole life. What sets these novels apart is the creative use of primary source material throughout. Actors read speeches, excerpts from memoirs and newspaper articles, and even recreate popular ads and jingles to fully evoke the era.
Both of these stories are wonderful, affecting and engaging audiobooks, particularly Revolution, which brought me to tears more than once. Listening to 12-year old Sunny experience the violence of a civil war protest right in front of her eyes, and watching her struggle to understand how people could behave the way they did, proves a powerful emotional experience.
Ideal for ages 11 and up.
Life as we knew it by
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Life as we knew it is a harrowing suspense thriller
that follows what happens after an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit and
closer to earth. As the world experiences catastrophic tsunamis and floods,
earthquakes and volcanoes, 10th grader Miranda and her family struggle to
survive. The young female narrator reads this story with the perfect amount of
urgency and innocence. Your family will beg to stay in the car just to find out
what happens. Ideal for ages 13 and up.
No comments:
Post a Comment