If you are looking for audiobooks for Kids & Family listening or for a Teen in your life, our 2017 Best lists have great choices. Last week in my picks from the Nonfiction list, I singled out a couple of choices to inspire writers from John McPhee and Colum McCann. There’s a title for kids to add to this group—Jack Gantos’s WRITING RADAR: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories. Jack’s engaging style and involving ideas really connect with young writers.
Two audiobook choices on our list give another sort of inspiration. Chelsea Clinton’s SHE PERSISTED: 13 American Women Who Changed the World
aims at tiny feminists (ages 4-6), with mini-biographies of Nellie Bly, Helen Keller, Maria Tallchief, Sally Ride, and Sonia Sotomayor, among others. (Aren’t you curious who the other 8 women are?) Kwame Alexander’s THE PLAYBOOK: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life will appeal to audiences ages 10+. Kwame’s rules come from a variety of sources, particularly star athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Steph Curry, but the wisdom goes beyond the young athlete. Great family listening.
There’s so much excellent writing and listening for young adult audiences, but making a choice for a gift for a teen is slightly different. I’ve highlighted some choices that will take teen listeners out of their own worlds—one future world—NYXIA, and one historical adventure—THE PEARL THIEF and the alternative world of Philip Pullman’s THE BOOK OF DUST. I know, I’ve already written about DUST in this column, but it’s truly a great place to start on some exceptional listening adventures. Elizabeth Wein’s THE PEARL THIEF also offer a follow-up for listeners with the brilliant CODE NAME VERITY (from 2012). As for NYXIA, it’s the opener in Scott Reintgen’s planned trilogy, The Nyxia Triad—so listeners who get hooked with this first one can anticipate more adventures aboard Babel’s lightship.
If you’re looking more of the Kids or Young Adult Best Audiobooks or for the full set of lists, check our 2017 Best EZine.
A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS!
We love seeing the posts from our blog partners sharing the Best of the Year lists! Thank you to Read Brightly for sharing more of our Kids and Family audiobook list with your readers! Thank you to Listening books blog and Citizen Reader for sharing our Nonfiction and Culture audiobooks list, Shelf Addiction for the roundup of our Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror list, and The Strand Magazine for sharing our Mystery and Suspense list. We love hearing from all our blog partners about their favorites from the audiobook lists!
