Summer! Time for watermelon, sโmores, road trips, and โ of course! โ the annual Dinner A Love Story kidโs reading round-up. This year, Iโm happy to present a twist: The gifted and talented mother, magazine vet,ย friend of DALS, andย childrensโ book loverย extraordinaire, Rory Evans tackles the best audiobooks for kids (and their parents). Take it from here Rory! โJenny
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Brave Irene by William Steig
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
The Ramona books, by Beverly Cleary
When Stockard Channing was 33, she played high school teenager Rizzo in Grease. And you didnโt think she was too old for the role, did you? The same goes for these books, where she nails a version of Ramona Quimby, whoโs four at the beginning of the series (in Beezus and Ramonaโthe only book of the group with Beezus, and not her little sister, as protagonist). Clearyโs books take place in Portland, Oregon, but Channing calls in accents and dialects from all over the U.S.: Miss Binney, the beloved kindergarten teacher, sounds southern; construction workers at a local job site sound like theyโre from the Bronx, Mrs. Kemp, the harried neighbor, sounds straight out of the midwest. Her Beezus is just as heartbreakingly earnest as Cleary makes her out in the books, and she manages to make Ramona seem sympathetic, lovable, and misunderstood despite her sometimes horrible behavior.
Line that Jamie and I often say to each other in character, usually apropos of nothing: โHowwwwieeeeโ in an ear-splitting midwestern accent.
The Henry Huggins books, by Beverly Cleary
The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
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Matilda by Roald Dahl
Read by: Kate Winslet
Play time: 4 hours 19 minutes
I feel like every parent has their go-to bedtime story bookโthe showstopper, the blue-ribbon winner, the one they do an especially spirited, nuanced, dramatic reading of (mineโs Dr. Seussโs โWhat Was I Scared Of?โ). But when you hear Kate Winsletโs Matilda, you will be embarassed to have ever had the arrogance to be in the same room as a childrenโs book, let alone the temerity to think you had a talent for reading one. Granted, Roald Dahl gives her a running start with a broad cast of characters, but then Winslet gives each of them clear, distinct voices, from sweet little Matilda to brave, sputtering, lisping Hortensia to the bellowing, horrible Trunchbull.ย (Ages 5 or 6 and up. It can be pretty Dickensian underneath the exaggerations.)
Line that Jamie and I often say to each other in character, usually apropos of nothing: โYesss, Misssss Honey.โ
Now I feel like I should download all of these for our long plane trip to California this weekend. Was just thinking how I would rather be reading to the kids then having them play games on devices, but itโs fairly distracting for others on the plane.
Excellent list โ one we will be using! Thank you & FYI Harry Potter is about 117 hours long (all 7 books I like the UK version read by Stephen Fry).
Iโm a long time audiobook fan and my kids start calling to โput on the storyโ any time we get into the car. Love all your choices and would addโฆ
The Pain and the Great One series by Judy Blume โ wonderful sibling dynamics
the Fudge series, also Judy Blume โ very funny
the Sophie stories by Dick King Smith, โSophieโs Snailโ is the first โ a wonderful series about a non-girly-girl who loves animals and yearns to be a โLady Farmerโ when she grows up. I believe they were written in the 80s in England. My daughter (also an animal loving non-girly-girl) absolutely loves these and listens to them over and over again. Sophieโs 4 in the first book. A good series for Ramona lovers. Hard to find in libraries but available on Audible.
This is just in time. My girls are driving from DC to my parentsโ farm in Ohio this week. I think the 4-year-old is too young for Harry Potter (although I love the audio books and Iโve been reading them to the 4-month old as she nurses โ her sister listened to The Hobbit at feedings), so Frances and William Steig here we come!
I requested a walk down memory lane last week on our family road trip, and I couldnโt have been happier with the results.
E. B. White reading Charlotteโs Web is โepicโ according to my 16 year old son. My 2 college kids were wiping their eyes, and my older son said, โYou know itโs coming, but it still gets you. Thatโs good writing.โ
Of course, C S Lewis said it best, โA childrenโs story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good childrenโs story in the slightest.โ
That is a good quote! Thanks, Prestigious!
Iโve never tried audio books in the car before โ but we are driving to Normandy in 10 days time (from London) and maybe the 5 year old would be ready to enjoy some of these nowโฆโฆ
Thank you so much for this list! Iโve had the Frances collection since I was a child, and now my children love it. I canโt wait to listen to the others.
Love love love this list! My boys at 2 and 6 months and I think the older one might be ready for some of the shorter stories. Rory, Iโd highly recommend the Artemis Fowl series on audio, itโs amazing and the reader is perfect!! My husband and I listened to these pre-kids on road trips, so good you donโt want to get out of the car.
Shel Silversteinโs narration of A Light in the Attic is nothing short of amazing. Listening to the cassettes on road trips was a big piece of my childhood.
Love love love this post!
For the older crowd, Holes is a good one โ donโt bother with the film version.
For older kids (rising 5th grader), we just finished listening to Natasha Richardson reading Roald Dahlโs โBFGโ. A great listening experience for the whole family. Also, Rita Garcia-Williamsโ historical fiction books on audio (โOne Crazy Summerโ, โP.S. Be Elevenโ, and the new one โGone Crazy in Alabamaโ) are awesome.
I just wanted to mention Overdrive as a great resource for downloading audiobooks from your library. It took a while for this to end up on my radar and my kids love it.
Michele โ Thank you for mentioning Overdrive. This looks terrific!
Great listโฆ. but a youโre missing a lot of great stories with lead characters of color. Iโd like to add Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin and The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex,
Thank you! Reserved many of these at our local library for a July road trip from San Diego to Seattle and back!
Love this post!! Discovering audiobooks radically reduced road trip stress for us. We (family of 4 boys ages 7-13, two bookworm parents) also loved The Rats of NIMH and have cranked thru most of the Harry Potters on road trips from South Carolina to Maine.
The Jeremy Irons version of James and the Giant Peach is absolutely amazing. E. B. White reading Stuart Little is another family favorite. For slightly older kids, The Wee Free Men is fantastic. Weโve also enjoy the books in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.
Love this list!!! I can see some as perfect for my 3 year old! I would add โWatership Downโ to this list for mid-elementary aged kids and up. The reader is AMAZING and he makes this already compelling story really come alive.
Car ride magic! Touring colleges now with our eldest, but have fond memories of listening to the Frances stories in the car.
Some of these I love, some of these I havenโt heard (yet). Will have to throw in a good word for Sutton Fosterโs reading of Betsy Tacy (wish she had done the whole series!) and all of the Penderwicks books read by Susan Denaker. I loved these so much (listened to all of them with my then 4 year old as we commuted) that when the last book came out I listened to it on my own, even though I no longer commute with my now 7 year old (Iโve got a new 3 yo in the car with me, but heโs not quite ready for audiobooks yet.)
I adore this list โ and the great suggestions listed in the comments, too โ and canโt wait to check them out. We listened to the Frances collection when my daughter was just short of three, and she busted out from the back seat, in a perfect English accent, โA BUTH-day for FRAHN-cis.โ We still say it to one another to this day (apropos of nothing!).
Thank you SO MUCH for this list today! Iโve spent hours compiling a list through our libraryโs website of books on tape/CD for our two middle boys, ages 6 and 3, to listen to during our daily โquiet timeโ. Iโve just added this entire list.
Yeah, books!
More! More! These are fantastic!
I will add one more, The Wednesday Wars by Gary D Schmidt, which my kiddos and I listened to in short bursts to and from swimming at the beginning of summer. They are 7 (boy) and 10 (girl), and they loved it. I believe I loved it more than reading the book.
Will most likely be turning to Cricket in Times Square next!
I agree with the PP who mentioned Betsy and Tacy! My daughter can recite parts of it now. Love Sutton Foster so much.
My son at age 11 is listening to the entire HP series for the second time (after reading them). Heโs on book four. We love the narrator, Jim Dale.
For the younger set (ages 3 โ 8), my daughter adored Sparkle Stories. They have a few different series, but her favorite has always been Martin & Sylvia. They have a website.
We are leaving for a short road trip on Thursday and are going to give Matilda a try. We just saw the musical, so this will tie in nicely. Thanks for the list!
JIM DALE READING HARRY POTTER IS AMAZING!!!!! It takes forever, but Iโve listened to all seven a few times. You wonโt be able to get his imploring Hermione out of your head โHair-eee.โ Enjoy!
Also, the Edward Tulane book is fantastic. Iโll add the audio book to my list. I really want to find a great narration of Anne of Green Gables.
THANK YOU! What a wonderful list. I have an almost 5 year old who got into audiobooks a year ago thanks to the magical Kate Winsletโs reading of the Magical Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. And I mean magical, awe-inspiring. I felt exactly the same way as you did when I heard her read.
Such a great and timely post! Weโre leaving on a trip tomorrow and Iโm taking the first three Harry Potter audio books and The Hobbit. Weโve all loved ALL of the R. Dahl audio books โ the Witches being our family favorite. Such a wonderful way to pass the time on a road trip or long plane ride. Thanks!