Guest posts:
9 Audiobooks for Growing Readers and Their Families
by Jennifer Ridgway
(readbrightly.com)
Jennifer Ridgway
Jenn recently made the decision to take a break from her publishing career to stay home with her twins full time. She loves sharing the joy of reading with her kids (the first thing in the nursery was the bookshelves, which have already been expanded numerous times) and has renewed her love of the library. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, tots, and one-eyed rescue cat, Padiddle.
Audiobooks provide great entertainment when traveling. Many of the recordings of books written for emerging readers also make for great family listening, providing a fun way to pass the time on the journey to or from home. They can be listened to on their own or used alongside the book to help new readers identify words, learn pronunciation, and hear how reading should sound.
Below is a selection of well-loved audiobooks. Whether you’re heading off on vacation or looking for something fun to do at home, these nine choices offer a little something for everyone.
by Annie Barrows, narrated by Cassandra Morris
Ivy and Bean are neighbors who, despite their different personalities, become good friends. The series is filled with silliness, friendship, and age-appropriate language. The humor makes this series an enjoyable listen for children and their parents.
by Richard Atwater and Florence Atwater, narrated by Nick Sullivan
After receiving two penguins as a gift, Mr. Popper decides to take them and their ten chicks on stage to help support his family, resulting in hilarious hijinks that will make children and their parents laugh out loud. Sullivan’s narration includes fun sound effects.
by Betty MacDonald, narrated by Karen White
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside-down house and smells like cookies — what’s not to love? She also has a “cure” for everything, which your little reader will find quite funny.
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, narrated by Robert Sevra
A classic early chapter book, this story of a young boy who saves a captured dragon offers plenty of adventures without being scary. The first book in a three-book series, it’s full of imagination and humor.
by Christopher Myers, narrated by Dion Graham and Christopher Myers
This is the story of two friends trying to outdo each other in a game of basketball, and the audio version takes their competitiveness to a whole new level. The narrators talk over each other, trying to one-up each other all the way from the court to outer space. This is all set over a jazzy music soundtrack, which echoes the beat of the basketball.
by Lynn Reid Banks, narrated by Lynn Reid Banks
The story of a plastic Indian who comes alive in a magical cabinet is a favorite of many children, and this edition — narrated by the author (in her British accent) — is an exciting listen.
by James Howe and Deborah Howe, narrated by Victor Garber
The Monroe family’s new pet is a little different — this hare might just be a vampire! These funny tales are made even more entertaining by actor Victor Garber’s flawless narration.
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, narrated by John Lavelle
This collection of the first four Nate the Great books is a great introduction to detective stories for your young readers. They are also a sneaky way to support the Common Core, as your kids use the clues to help solve the mysteries alongside Nate.
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, narrated by Josephine Bailey
The beloved classic is brought to life by Bailey, whose accents and various voices make listening to the story of Colin and Mary and the secret garden even more enchanting than reading it.
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Benefits of audio books for children
By Hugh Fraser, Storynory Editor
( storynory.com)
Audio books have become increasingly popular in recent years (see Google Tends), but some people believe that listening to a good book is not as legitimate as reading one. In fact many authors, such as Dickens, wrote their books to be read out aloud. You can make the case that listening to Dickens’ books is more authentic than reading them.
“Well into the Victorian era, popular writers read their books aloud to enthusiastic paying audiences. – Baskin and Harri”
There are many benefits to listening to literature – here are some of them.
- Audio books develop listening skills and quiet concentration.
- A skilled narrator brings out humour with expert timing and tone.
- Language should sound beautiful and reading it aloud teaches an appreciation of grace and phrasing.
- Many authors, such as Dickens, were written to be read out aloud – in fact listening to Dickens’ books may be more authentic than reading them.
- Audio books help you understand complex language.
- Audio books teach you how to hold people’s attention when telling a story which is an important skill for life.
- Listening to a book read brilliantly helps you learn punctuation, enunciation, and emphasis, all of which bring out the meaning of a text.
- Following on from above, younger children can understand language above their reading age and learn new words and advanced constructs.
- Audio books can help you understand and appreciate unfamiliar accents and dialects.
- If English is not your first language, you will benefit from hearing clear pronunciation and native speech patterns.
- Audio books are fantastic for dyslexics.
- Those with Attention Deficit Disorders may find that listening is more distraction-free than reading.
- Audio book open up literary texts for blind people.
- You extend your literacy time because you can listen while traveling or cooking or tidying up your room or taking exercise or falling asleep.
- Unabridged texts with a single narrator give an authentic literary experience true to the original.
- Poetry, traditionally a problem for student readers, is brought to life with expert interpretation and phrasing.
About Hugh Fraser
Hugh Fraser is Storynory’s founder. He writes the original stories and adapts many of the myths and legends.
He studied Classics at Oxford University, before working as a journalist. He spent 1990 to 1993 based in Moscow working for a number of publications including the FT, The Independent and Variety.
In 1990 he joined the BBC where he worked for 12 years on business programmes and various Russian projects.
Hugh set up a company called Blog Relations in 1995 with his old friend, Matthew Lynn. It was a little ahead of its time. Storynory began as a project of Blog Relations when they decided they wanted their own publishing project. Hugh became completely hooked on Storynory and has continued with it ever since.
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How the weeks fly by... another one gone... poof! I hope you bumped into a book or two here on Storywraps that you want to share with your little ones or in your classroom. It is my pleasure to review for you and once again I thank those from the bottom of my heart that see value in what I am doing and are prompted to donate to the cause of making kids happy, lifelong readers. Have a wonderful weekend with family and friends and I will see you here again on Monday for more exciting picture books to unwrap. Happy reading.
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