Our Family's Favorite Audiobooks
Plus: 10 books we plan to listen to this summer
We are light users of audiobooks during the school year, generally reading from physical books, but when we pile into our Odyssey to take long trips to avoid the sweltering heat of the Texas summer, we turn mainly to audiobooks to pass the time. These three are titles that we have listened to multiple times because they are just that good, and we all love them (even the grown-ups). Bonus: they’re great for a wide range of ages (our children are currently ages 3-14).
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
[Narrated by: David McCallum]
The story itself is so well-crafted and vividly written; I love how Henry's use of language is such that the reader can easily imagine the neighs of Sham and the scents and sounds of Morocco. The tender, deep friendship between Agba the horseboy and Sham his horse is quite moving. This is one we re-visit every summer and it never gets old.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien
Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
Mrs. Frisby, a mother rat, is quite an unusual choice for the hero of a children’s story, but she remains one of my favorites, as well as one of the most courageous female leads in a work of fiction. We love the themes of duty and bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles in this thrilling adventure story. Barbara Caruso, the narrator, is splendid to listen to. (After a quick perusal, I just discovered that she has recorded Little Women, Pollyanna, and the entire Anne series, too. Adding them all to my list of books to listen to…)
The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
Narrated By: Kenneth Branagh
When you marry the literary genius of C. S. Lewis with the theatrical prowess of Kenneth Branagh...you get this masterpiece. Every time I listen to it I love it more and cannot wait to experience it again. I am incapable of tiring of Lewis' prose, no matter how many times I've read it. (Branagh’s unique voices for every character, including each of the animals in newly-created Narnia, are absolutely brilliant).
Books we plan to listen to this Summer:
The Yearling [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings]
Julie of the Wolves [Jean Craighead George]
A Place to Hang the Moon [Kate Albus]
Five Little Peppers and How they Grew [Margaret Sidney]
Matilda [Roald Dahl]
The Sign of the Beaver [Elizabeth George Speare]
The Goose Girl [Shannon Hale]
The Jungle Book [Rudyard Kipling]
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [L. Frank Baum]
Caddie Woodlawn [Carol Ryrie Brink]
What are your favorite audiobooks? Do you ever listen to books repeatedly, or do you prefer to try new books over revisiting familiar ones? I would love to hear your recommendations; do please comment with their titles below!
The act of reading together secures people to one another, creating order and connection, as if we were quilt squares tacked together with threads made of stories.
-Meghan Cox Gurdon
Keep seeking the virtuous and the lovely,
Shannon
We stumbled on War Horse audiobook in our local library and enjoyed that. Haven’t seen the movie yet. I did recently order a ton of Jim Weiss- narrated books from Well-Trained Mind. We had started with Three Musketeers. It’s funny how the sound of someone’s voice can make you nostalgic-which road trip was that? Other notable mentions: Secret Garden from Libravox and Around the World Stories (30 mins each)-got this a looong time ago and it was worth it!
My kiddos struggle with dyslexia, so audiobooks are a big thing around here! Some favorites are Ralph Moody’s series (beginning with Father and I were Ranchers), the Narnia series, the Little House in the Prairie series, and the Redwall series.