My 12 year old peppered me with questions last night (when of course I was too sleepy to answer well) about how we ended up with the various denominations of Christianity. I actually know a fair amount if I dredge it up, but he often doesn't just want to hear me do a lecture. It also makes me realize we need to re-listen to SOTW or similar so he gets the context. We did that and Gombrich when he was just too young. (As a side note I do wish SOTW was on audible. ) Anyway, the best ways for him to absorb info are audio or video. Any recommendations? We would prefer something from as neutral a perspective as possible. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

To answer another part of your question, some audible books my 6th grader really enjoyed on audio but never would have listened to unless assigned: -- To Kill a Mockingbird -- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- Golden Goblet -- The Hakim US History series --Watsons Go to Birmingham1963 -- Letter from Birmingham Jail (can't say he loved that one, but he got through it) He also likes the Who Was... series -- educational, but he listens to those for fun (along with a lot of not educational stuff)

Did this ever get added to tapatalk? I've never been able to find WTM there.

I can't believe I forgot the Ranger's Apprentice series. Just adore John's Keating's narration.

Couldn't agree more on Hero's Guide. I enjoyed it along with my kids. Love Bronson Pinchot. It has been a while but we all loved Snow Treasure and Castle Corona. Might be time to relisten. I categorize some things in my mind as the stories we have listened to before bed. YMMV because I put mythology in that camp. We loved Atticus the Storyteller and the d'Aulaire's Greek Mythology. Also Paddington the Bear and the Mercy Watson stories. The kids absolutely loved Magic Tree House on audio though I never cared for the narrator. We all loved the Riordan books on audio, especially the first series and the ancient Egypt one. For school, my 12 year old really loved the audio of To Kill a Mockingbird (Sissy Spacek is perfect), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Golden Goblet. Both my 15 and 12 year old love the "Who Was..." series on audio. I will check my library and post more. We have had so much fun with good audios as a family. Great memories of trips and evening listens.

I agree. These are great. They are on audible too.

Love the Jim Weiss. Another idea is Coll the Storyteller's Tales of Enchantment by Lucy Coats.

My kids didn't like them nearly as well as SOTW. YMMV of course.

Both my kids from a young age used them to wind down for a nap or at bedtime. It was just a necessity for my sanity that turned into a great virtue. I did read alouds in the evening too but these worked even when I was too tired. In those days we really liked ones that had short segments. Now my kids are 12 and 15. The older one listens to podcasts but also to novels and non fiction. The younger one listens to audios before bed. About a year ago we started listening most evenings in the living room to candlelight. I'll be sad when he grows out of it. He was a late blooming reader who has been exposed to a lot via audio. We have a ton of CDs but find audible now so much more convenient. We use it a lot for local or long distance travel too

There's definitely something up with the How to Train Your Dragon series. There is a set narrated by David Tennant and another narrated by Gerard Doyle. When I went to buy the first two books some time ago, the Tennant ones weren't available so I bought the Doyle versions which were fine. Now they are gone and the Tennant ones are on sale. I still have my Doyle ones but they don't seem to be on the site anymore that I can see. I assume it is one of those regional availability things.

Oh I thought of some more! My sons loved, loved Castle Corona. One of their all time favorite audio books. I'm tempted to buy it even though we have it on CD. I think it is Sharon Creech, which makes me wonder if they would like some of her other books even if they are girl focused. My 12 year old and his best friend love the Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer. We have both those audios that are on sale, and my son ripped right through them.

The Paddington book narrated by Stephen Fry is very sweet. We've listened to it before but I'm thinking of buying it so we can listen again -- it is comfort food, even for me. There are two books narrated by Bronson Pinchot. We've only listened to the first one, but it was excellent if you like the genre that updates the fairy tales. He is an amazing narrator. I liked it as much as my son. The title is something like Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. We listened a while ago to the Mouse and the Motorcycle series, narrated by BD Wong and also by Cleary I think. I remember really liking them and I saw them on this sale. I saw a Winnie the Pooh version we listened to, again years ago, and I really liked it.

There is a muscles anatomy app that is free today.

There have been sales on audible recently where some of them have been on a two for 1 or 3 for 2 credits sale. I think they are very rarely on a daily deal too. I have gotten quite a few when they have been discounted below the credit price. Doesn't help for the ones that are better on video. :)

I forgot - for nonfiction both my boys (and I ) have really liked the "Who Was..." Biography series on audio. If you like mythology we really liked all the Atticus the Storyteller audios, as well as d'Aulaires on audio. Many of the Jim Weiss are good for older kids -- his website may list the age ranges. We liked a Sherlock. Holmes one, the Masters of the Renaissance, Galileo and the Stargazers, and the ones on Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. Way back when on library cassettes we liked George Washington Spymaster and bios by Albert Marrin. Not sure of they are available on modern media. Not nonfiction, but on those library cassettes we loved Einstein Anderson. I think was when we first discovered Johnny Heller as a narrator, who became a favorite.

Our favorites: Snow treasure Rick Riordan books Sisters Grimm series Ranger's Apprentice series (probably my favorite) Golden Goblet (though I know not everyone loves this one) NERDs series

I didn't see To Kill a Mockingbird listed but my sons read it in 7th grade. My kids really enjoyed the audio book read by Sissy Spacek. One of our favorite audios of all time.

Thanks for the help. I solved my problem once I had the current version of the Overdrive app installed. It wasn't working on the devices that had the old version.

My signature is out of date but I have a 15 year old high schooler who's more of the lifelong learner type than my younger child. He's a freshman in a challenging high school that really suits him. He has a pretty quiet summer planned other than some backpacking trips and family vacation. He told me that he would really like to learn some Latin over the summer. He's in his third year old high school French if that makes a difference. Knowing him and his situation, he really thrives with video and audio learning. He and I are doing some fun MOOCs together, he loves watching documentaries and he likes Teaching Company type things. Is there anything like that for Latin, or even Latin and Greek word roots? I will end up doing it with him I'm sure, but I'm more up for reading oriented courses than he is, given how much reading and writing he does for school. Thanks for any ideas. He's a history nut so loves anything about Roman history as well.

Is anyone having trouble with the downloads? I'm getting error messages when I try to download to my phone or iPad. Downloaded to my phone with no problem last summer.

The Joy Hakim American history audios are great. Targeted at a middle school audience but they were a good refresher for me too.

Each book separately. The audios are very good. There are non fiction US history books by the Collier brothers on Audible but I haven't listened to them. Also look for books by Timothy Egan, Albert Marrin, and Steve Sheinkin. Single topic history books.

I love Hemingway but my least favorite is Old Man and the Sea. I need to try that audio version! I think his short stories are the best. I'd do the collection In Our Time. But I loved For Whom the Bell Tolls too, and it gives rise to interesting discussions on the period in which it was set, as well as the John Donne meditiation.

My favorites are the Four Corners area of the SW (esp. Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, etc) and the trip from Memphis to New Orleans via the Mississippi Delta. I guess my other favorite area of the US is Glacier-Yellowstone-Grand Tetons.

OP I'd be interested in what museums you enjoyed in Selma. We get there fairly often with family and I'd like to do museums while there. We have done the national park one in White Hall and it was great. My 11 year old and I just listened to Letter from Birmingham Jail on audible. We really enjoyed it.