Celebrate Audio Book Month With the Whole Family

Posted by Alana T.

Summer is here and many families are hitting the road together.  One option for keeping everyone entertained as the miles sweep by is to listen to audiobooks - a great way to celebrate National Audiobook Month.  Below I've listed some of our family-friendly selections.

The Essential Agatha Christie Stories: Agatha Christie's Best Sleuths Crack 20 Famous Cases.  Excellent narrators portray Ms. Marple, Poirot & more in these great stories.  Each is about 30 minutes long and perfect listening for driving and walking.  Great choice for a family vacation drive in the car.

The Alphabet Murders (A is for Alibi, etc.) by Sue Grafton.  I'm going to deviate from the norm and suggest the abridged versions of these stories.  Why?  The narrator, Judy Kaye, captures Kinsey Milhone's personality perfectly.  Also, the shortened versions are about 2 hours long and perfect for car trips or shortened memory spans.  Collections of the novels are available in groups of three (A,B&C; D,E&F; ect.). Yes, there is a murder in each story, and some low key violence; okay for teens, but not younger children.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (or any other title) by David Sedaris.  One of the best things about any audiobook by Sedaris is that he narrates his own stories; these are somewhat dark and moody, but still hilarious.  The animal characters are not cute and cuddly, but neurotic and wacky.  There is a moral in each tale, but usually not a pleasant one.

Doctor Who by BBC Audio.  We have an extensive collection of Doctor Who audiobooks, each about 2.5 hours long.  The BBC originally produced these for radio and they are usually performed by a full cast.  A great choice for boys and sci-fi fans.

Tales From The Perilous Realm by J.R.R Tolkein.  Four lesser known short stories by Tolkien are presented by one or two readers; total playing time for the collection is three hours.  A good choice for younger kids and anyone who loves adventure, magic and hobbits.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly.  Everyone knows the story, but most know only the movie version.  Try this version with a full cast and everyone will be entertained.

For more suggestions, visit our Pinterest Board dedicated to staff Audio Picks.