It’s officially summer here in our neck of the ‘burbs. And for my boys this means the three Rs: Rest, Recreation and, inevitably, the Road.
Between road trips and rides to camp, the in-car interludes get longer for us just as for many others around this time of year. And there’s no better chance to catch-up on some of the many wonderful audiobooks out there.
Here’s a list of ten, great, 5hr-and-under audiobooks of ageless classics to take along for the ride. Not all audiobooks are created equal! These versions are family-tested and read by some of the best in the biz.
Title: The Arnold Lobel Audio Collection
Author: Arnold Lobel
Narrator: Mark Linn-Baker
Format: Short stories
Length: 57m
Age group: 3-6
The skinny: These four gentle tales, by beloved author Arnold Lobel, are filled with a host of characters both silly and charming.
Title: Frog and Toad Audio Collection
Author: Arnold Lobel
Narrator: Arnold Lobel
Format: Short stories
Length: 1h 32m
Age group: 3-7
The skinny: BFFs Frog and Toad have endeared themselves to children for almost 50 years. Their adventures are expertly narrated by the author himself in this collection.
Title: Winne-the-Pooh
Author: A.A. Milne
Narrator: Peter Dennis (or Judi Dench, Stephen Fry et al)
Format: Short stories
Length: 4h
Age group: 6-10
The skinny: Stories of the world’s best-loved bear are brought to vivid life by talented storytellers in both these audio versions. If you’ve not yet experienced the books, know that the humor is nuanced and can be enjoyed at almost any age. Note that it may be worth giving your child a little explanation before getting started, because the introduction, and first few lines of Chapter 1 (in which we are introduced to Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh), can be confusing without a book at hand to provide context.
Title: Pippi Longstocking
Author: Astrid Lindgren
Narrator: Christina Moore
Format: Short stories
Length: 2h 35m
Age group: 7-10
The skinny: Christina Moore’s unusual voice breathes life into an unusual character, her whacky antics, prodigious strengths and surprising vulnerabilities.
Title: David and the Phoenix
Author: Edward Ormondroyd
Narrator: Edward Ormondroyd and full cast
Format: Full-length story
Length: 3h
Age group: 8-11
The skinny: This bittersweet tale of an accidental friendship between a boy and a mythical beast, is engagingly narrated by the author, accompanied by a full cast.
Title: The Jungle Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Narrator: Flo Gibson (or Charles Minx; Benjamin May; Jim Weiss; or Madhav Sharma)
Format: Full-length story + extra short stories
Length: 5h 6m
Age group: 8-14
The skinny: There are many audiobook versions of this lush and gorgeous tale but not all are created equal. I’ve included the versions that I think are best, and of these Flo Gibson’s is superb and our favorite. Some audio versions include bonus stories, of which I recommend only Rikki Tikki Tavi.
Title: Nim’s Island
Author: Wendy Orr
Narrator: Kate Reading
Format: Full-length story
Length: 2h 26m
Age group: 8-12
The skinny: A resourceful young girl deploys her skills and wits to survive when her father goes missing from their island home. The narrative often included the email exchange between Nim and a newfound friend on the mainland. This could cause a little confusion for a young listener, so it’s worth giving a word of explanation upfront.
Title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Author: C.S. Lewis
Narrator: Michael York
Format: Full-length story
Length: 4h 23m
Age group: 8-14
The skinny: York does a fantastic job narrating this famous book from the Narnia series.
Title: By the Great Horn Spoon
Author: Sid Fleischman
Narrator: Mark Linn-Baker
Format: Full-length story
Length: 4h 30m
Age group: 9-12
The skinny: A rollicking tale about a boy and his resourceful butler who join the California Gold Rush of the 1800s to seek their fortune. In this audio version, the boy’s voice is a tad dated in its “gee-Mister” earnestness, but the plot soon takes over.
Title: Robin Hood
Author: Benedict Flynn
Narrator: John McAndrew
Format: Full-length story
Length: 2h 19m
Age group: 9-13+
The skinny: This gripping, sophisticated, and poignant retelling by Benedict Flynn (much better suited to the current generation than the older Howard Pyle version) is excellently narrated by John McAndrew, and enhanced by period music and sound effects.
Access: The audiobook links above are through Audible at Amazon.com. Depending upon where you live in the world, you can likely also access these audiobooks for free through your public library and other resources that I am blogging about, like Hoopla.
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