Audiobooks for Family Listening

Teen listeners may be happy to skip Ray Bradbury's literary introduction, titled "The Ardent Blasphemers"—which makes comparisons between Herman Melville and Jules Verne—and get right to the granddaddy of steampunk novels. This seminal science fiction work recounts the story of three survivors of an American frigate, sunk while searching for the sea monster that has been... Read More

This full-cast narration of a young adult science fiction adventure is, despite minor flaws, pure fun. Hero/narrator Matt (David Kelly), a cabin boy on a lighter-than-air liner in the book’s Jules Vernesian world, finds adventure and romance among pirates and mysterious flying creatures on an uncharted island. Kelly’s voice is irresistibly likable and engaging, though he does... Read More

Forget the cartoon version! Dale's expert handling of the characters in Carroll's classic banishes any preconceived voice characterizations from the listener's mind. The old favorites are all here: Alice, the Queen, the Caterpillar, and so on. However, there's more to it than just those few. Carroll's absurd landscape is populated with equally absurd characters, many of them... Read More

Commemorating Listening Library's 50th Anniversary, the publisher reprises the first book recorded as an audiobook in 1955. This new edition, read by Jim Dale, offers a good, if not brilliant, rendition of Verne's 1873 classic. Dale paces himself to Verne's narrative, which seems a bit slow and plodding. As the urgency of the circumnavigation increases, Dale's characters seem... Read More

When you have an author who writes with enthusiasm about a topic as arcane as competitive rowing and a narrator of the caliber of Edward Herrmann, the result is a fun and compelling work. There’s action and drama, particularly when the story moves to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the American crew’s unexpected but well-earned gold medal. But it’s in the details of the sport... Read More

Melissa Sweet, author of SOME WRITER, introduces this edition of CHARLOTTE'S WEB with insights into White’s inspiration for the sweet story. Then, Meryl Streep and a stellar cast take us to the barnyard. She draws the listener in with a smooth, consistent delivery and unobtrusive interjections highlighting the emotions of the dialogue. Every portrayal of every character, major... Read More

Fifteen-year-old D.J. lives in Red Bend, Wisconsin, in a family in which all the boys play football. She’s a basketball star. When her father breaks his hip, D.J. must give up sports and do all the milking, mucking, and mowing on their farm. During the summer D.J. trains the quarterback from rival Hawley High and discovers that football is her passion. Natalie Moore does an... Read More

Dinosaurs roam the foggy streets of Victorian London? In this Frankenstein retelling, an industrialist with a God-complex exhumes bodies to create zombie slave laborers. George is a clerk in the British Museum investigating unexplained mysteries when one falls into his lap, or rather, out of his pocket when it’s picked by urchin Eddie. With the help of Liz, daughter of a... Read More

Too often we hear fairy tales told through the filter of satire or Saturday-morning cartoons, so it’s a distinct pleasure to hear a writer of Philip Pullman’s talent, humor, and intelligence ever so slightly and cleverly reimagine 50 of the original 200 Brothers Grimm’s tales, first published 200 years ago. English actor Samuel West provides a superbly wry and cultured... Read More

Michael Arroyo is growing up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. He is the star pitcher of his Little League team, dreaming of pitching them to the Little League World Series. Everything is on track for his dream to come true; then he is benched until the birth certificate that didn’t make it out of Cuba with the family can be produced to prove he is only 12 and eligible to play.... Read More

This Newbery Honor book is enhanced by the narration of Kathrin Kana, who voices the facts and information as a compelling story and leaves the listener to gradually become aware of the implications of Hitler’s plans for Germany and the Hitler Youth. Hitler’s exploitation of Germany’s young bought their devotion to the Nazi cause while blinding them to the true motives behind... Read More

Rob Inglis expertly bridges the gap between the whimsical, childlike aspects of Tolkien’s fantasy classic and the hints of darker things to come later in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Though content to enjoy his cozy life, cheerful hobbit Mr. Bilbo Baggins agrees to help his wizard friend Gandalf aid a group of dwarves seeking their lost treasure. As their various adventures ensue,... Read More

"Start with rhythm/ Start with the heart"—so begins this collection of Walter Dean Myers poems, where listeners will find plenty of rhythm and plenty of heart. R&B artists James "D-Train" Williams and Vaneese Thomas read and sing the 17 poems—joyful tributes to jazz and bebop, to the piano and the slide trombone, to Louis Armstrong and New Orleans—with energy and verve,... Read More

This kid-friendly and informative biography will engage a wide audience of listeners. A 1988 Newbery Award winner, the book includes interesting stories that may be familiar (Lincoln's rugged, dirt-floor-poor early life) and other facts that may not (he hated being called "Abe"). As the author offers a glimpse of life at a very different time, Robert Petkoff blends a careful... Read More

A plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island during wartime. A group of schoolboys--the sole survivors--form their own society, an experiment that quickly descends into chaos and death in Golding’s classic allegory. Listening Library recently rereleased this historic 1976 recording, and the timing could not be more apt. As CNN keeps viewers on edge with the latest military... Read More

Bobby Goodspeed is not your typical 12-year-old. He's probably the world's youngest tie salesman. He also meets his friends at the local Candy Kitchen for regular "forums." When his friend Addie decides they need to create a third political party for the school election, Bobby gets an idea that could really change Paintbrush Falls Middle School. An interview with the author... Read More

Norman is at that awkward age when his body is growing too fast for his brain to keep up. He’s grounded so much he feels like a prisoner in a work-release program. He unwittingly finds it easier to offend Leonard Kopinski, class bully, than to impress Laura Magruder, girl of his dreams. Tom Bodett’s 15 separate but related stories weave a tale of humor, adventure, and... Read More

Neil Gaiman does a good bear voice. This is important in an audiobook populated with a talking bear, a talking fox, a talking eagle, a Frost Giant, Norse gods, and a Viking boy named Odd. In Gaiman's voice, the bear grumbles, the fox wheedles, the eagle screeches, and the giant booms—and occasionally reverberates. Odd mostly just takes things as they come, journeying between... Read More

Donald Sutherland’s gentle and thoughtful reading of the 1952 classic is spot-on perfect. The tale concerns an old fisherman in a Cuban village who, after an especially bad fishing season, sets out in his skiff, determined to bring in a big fish. By noon, the old man hooks a great marlin, but the powerful fish drags the skiff out to sea for two days. Challenged by starvation,... Read More

The convergence of an eloquent manuscript and a noteworthy reading is only one of the highlights of PRIVATE PEACEFUL. Evocative language increases the realism of the flashbacks that tell the story of brothers Charlie and Thomas Peaceful. Combining scenes of WWI, life on an English estate, school, loving Molly, and a brother’s bond, the characterizations are exceptional. Jeff... Read More

Foregoing any bells and whistles, George Newbern’s understated narration is the ideal match for Hillenbrand’s sweeping account of how a small bay horse—an underdog with crooked legs, often described as ugly—came to be more important to the American psyche than President Roosevelt and the war against Hitler. Newbern’s unhurried pace and warm, comfortable timbre invite listeners... Read More

If you think it’s cold this winter, imagine being trapped from 1914 to 1916 on ice floes in Antarctica with barely enough food and too few tents and sleeping bags. Armstong’s vivid biography of Shackleton and his crew is brought to life by Taylor Mali. Excerpts from diaries and newspaper accounts, which flesh out this incredible adventure of survival in the harshest environment... Read More

Scott Hudson has one goal for his freshman year: to survive. To cope with the expected (friends dumping him) and unexpected (mom’s pregnant!) changes of his first year of high school, Scott keeps a diary in the guise of writing advice to “Smelly,” his unborn brother. Full Cast Audio evokes the humorous growing pains of Scott, his friends, and family. Ryan MacConnell does an... Read More

Katherine Kellgren's performance wrings all of the emotion and suspense from Andersen's classic tale of friendship, innocence, wickedness, and despair. In a large, crowded town, two children become as brother and sister. When Kai is struck by a shard of magical glass, his heart turns to ice, and he's captured by the evil Snow Queen. His loving playmate, Gerda, risks everything... Read More

It’s good to be reminded of the power wielded by this classic of American literature. As the introductory music fades and Sissy Spacek begins her narration, we immediately enter the small town in the Deep South where all the timeless issues of kindness and cruelty, inclusion and prejudice are played out in a story told by a little girl named Scout. Instead of offering a range... Read More

The book behind the award-winning movie opens with the tale of the original whale rider, immersing the listener in the sweep of Maori culture at the heart of this remarkable story. The new young whale rider takes her rightful name, Kahu. The girl-child’s story is told by her uncle Rawiri: her breaking of the male chain of descendants, her rejection by her great-grandfather, her... Read More

Children of all ages love the classic and iconic character Winnie-the-Pooh in many forms, and here is a fully engaging audiobook. Framed as a father telling Christopher Robin and his friend Winnie-the-Pooh stories about their adventures, the stories introduce listeners to Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo. Young children will giggle at Winnie-the-Pooh’s love of honey,... Read More