Author: Emily Roberts

Kids don’t just read fiction. Indeed, older boys often abandon stories completely in favor of fact-based reading. Non fiction covers most of the subjects that adults are interested in – history, biography, even self-help.

Again, many excellent non-fiction books aren’t available as audiobooks. In some cases, the reason for this is obvious – as in Canadian author/illustrator Bill Slavin’s marvelous “How Things are made” book Transformed.

This time we’ve selected an audiobook about Habitat for Humanity, the charitable group that builds houses for needy people, with the future owners taking part in the building process – David Rubel’s “If I had a Hammer”

Pete Seeger says of this book, “This is an inspiring book, telling how ideas starting on a little farm in Georgia have grown to a worldwide movement bringing people together.”

There’s no end to the list of older books, beloved by generations of readers. You’ll see them listed – Charlotte’s Web and Anne of Green Gables, Peter Pan and A Wrinkle in Time.

Since there are so many, why don’t I simply recommend my own favorite children’s book of all time, Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows”.

Long-ish at seven hours – that’s a vacation car trip across country – this tale of Ratty and Mole, and the outrageous Mr. Toad will make the time go by quickly.

Books written for the middle school years (and a little beyond) are classed as YA (for Young Adult). This is a category that has grown in recent years with the understanding that there was a gap between reading books about plucky twelve year olds and the mainstream of books for adults. Here is a ‘top ten’ selection that will give you plenty of ideas.

In particular let’s look at Marcus Zusak’s  “The Book Thief”. Set during World War II in Germany, the novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. She shares stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. It’s long – eight CDs – but critically lauded.

This age group is – nominally – nine to twelve, but in practice, bright younger children can enjoy Middle Grade books, as can adults.

Many excellent MG books aren’t available as audiobooks, alas. So, you’ll have to invent your own funny voices and flying machine noise in Howard Whitehouse’s hilarious “Mad Misadventures” series, set in Victorian England:

Our recommendation for an audiobook is Neil Gaiman’s wonderfully creepy, yet touching Graveyard Book, about a living boy raised by the ghostly residents of a cemetery. There’s a lot to this story about bravery and loyalty – it’s not just a horror tale!

The pre-school and early elementary school years are usually associated with picture books – usually 32 pages long, less than a thousand words (far less, for the youngest kids) and full of colorful pictures. How does that connect with a listening experience?

Well – it’s different!

One classic beloved by young children is the story of Paddington Bear. Not too long for little kids – 2hrs and 39 minutes – it’s a classic, read by the wonderful Stephen Fry.