mommymilkies Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 My 7 year old has some pretty intense anxiety and fears (monsters, tornadoes, etc.). She really loves audiobooks and is currently obsessed with the Just So Stories read by Boris Karloff. She wants more but some are just too intense. She's somehow ok with Harry Potter but NOT ok with the James Herriott Treasury because of a story of a Mama cat dying. So nothing with animals (especially cats) dying, if possible. We're reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books aloud right now and she's ok with them. I was thinking of the Roald Dahl books read by the author because she loves his books, but I have not read all of them, so I'm unsure how intense they might be. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) My 6.5yo cannot hack Roald Dahl in any way, shape or form. I had to take The Minpins back to the library in a big manila envelope and he insisted that I hide Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the bottom of a box. The Stephen Fry/Judi Dench et al unabridged recordings of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner are wonderful. No dead animals. My boys have been listening to them obsessively for ages and we all have large chunks memorized by now. Edited January 30, 2012 by JennyD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Have you tried Thornton Burgess? I'm not sure they are available as a true audio book though - I got them free on my kindle and use the text-to-speech option to read it out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Have you tried Thornton Burgess? I'm not sure they are available as a true audio book though - I got them free on my kindle and use the text-to-speech option to read it out loud. There are some available for free download if you search online. The only animals that die during his green forest series are chickens, fish, and various small animals (flies, grubs, insects, ...) If you tell me which titles you can find I can tell you if there is anything you should be concerned about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 If you're reading the Little House books, just a heads-up...Jack the dog dies in "By the Shores of Silver Lake". I am not sensitive...don't cry when reading, but THAT chapter made me bawl as a kid. I loved Jack. So you might want to skip that book...for now. My kids aren't sensitive either, but *I* would never read that particular Little House book aloud. They had to read it themselves. They rolled their eyes and me...but I wasn't giving in. I am only going to go through Jack's death ONCE in my lifetime. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiKC Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Have you tried Thornton Burgess? I'm not sure they are available as a true audio book though - I got them free on my kindle and use the text-to-speech option to read it out loud. I got this free somehwere, not sure where. One of those sites with lots of old classic books. What about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books? I haven't listened to them, but my kids request them over and over. Maybe someone else can help, but I'm pretty sure there is nothing sad in them....? Alice in Wonderland? What about some of the Classical Kids CDs? There are 4-6 of them and each focuses on a composer, but in a story for kids and then music is there, too. I don't REMEMBER anything sad/bad in them... These are great literature or anything, but Magic Treehouse? What about some books by Beverly Cleary, like Ramona the Pest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I just mad a great find last week on Audible that might fit the bill for your dd. it is called Jennings' diary, and is a British school story--kinda Harry Potter without the magic or the villains. Good clean hilarious fun. Audible has 3 of the 25 or so novels Buckeridge wrote. I cannot wait to get the others. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) My kids loved this audio book - The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley. It's about 2 cousins who shrink down to ant size and have to live with a colony of ants until they can figure out how to become human-sized again. Nice story - nothing scary or supernatural or disturbing. Caitilin -Jenning's Diary sounds like a good one - we'll have to look for it! eta - have you tried any of Jim Weiss's storytelling cds? They're all very good - I think you can buy most of them from SWB's store, Chinaberry (where I linked the ant book), or straight from his own website - greathall productions. Edited January 30, 2012 by Mothersweets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Lots of good books here! I'm going to keep ILL busy for awhile! :lol: We have tons of Jim Weiss and Classical Kids CDs and I think she's a little worn out by them. I will say *so far* 5 Little Peppers and How They Grew is ok-a little intense at times, but so far so good (we're reading it aloud). I guess I could read some books and record myself reading them for her, too. I hear GarageBand works for this on Macs. But that way I can leave off very sensitive parts for her, too. I hate to censor, but she is such an insomniac and so sensitive. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 My 7 yr old is the same way. He loves the Flat Stanley series on audio. I hate it because I can't stand the guy's voice. Shudder. Ds loves it though. Also, he likes Boxcar Children on audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 If you're reading the Little House books, just a heads-up...Jack the dog dies in "By the Shores of Silver Lake". I am not sensitive...don't cry when reading, but THAT chapter made me bawl as a kid. I loved Jack. So you might want to skip that book...for now. My kids aren't sensitive either, but *I* would never read that particular Little House book aloud. They had to read it themselves. They rolled their eyes and me...but I wasn't giving in. I am only going to go through Jack's death ONCE in my lifetime. :D :lol:I will skip that one! I always bawl like a baby when a pet dies in a book. I was a wreck when I read HP 7!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Any more ideas? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 What about the Ramona and Henry Huggins books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyJ Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Lets see. We have Curious George, Frog and Toad, Mouse Tales, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. (They all still love this silly book even though they are older) We also have some poetry like Robert Frost that they love and we have borrowed some books from the library. Ramona books as well as Narnia have been big hits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I know someone recommended Magic Treehouse, but I can't play them for my sensitive 4 y.o. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 What about the Ramona and Henry Huggins books? :iagree: These are great, except for the ones read by that woman who pauses after every sentence. snooze. Didn't bother my 7yo, though. She also loved Socks by Cleary and Because of Winn Dixie by DiCamillo (which is read by the same narrator as the Little House books). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Winnie the Pooh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 maybe check story nory for some fun audio readings. it's free, so you could screen some things before trying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3blessingz Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Have you tried The Borrowers? We LOVE LOVE LOVE that series. Very gentle and fantastic. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 The "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood. Sweet and fun. I loved them as a kid. "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" By Betsy MacDonald (I think) The "Betsy-Tacy" series by Maud Hart Lovelace. Books 1-3 in the series would probably be great for her age. And I swear I wasn't going for "Betsy" themed books. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 The "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood. Sweet and fun. I loved them as a kid. "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" By Betsy MacDonald (I think) The "Betsy-Tacy" series by Maud Hart Lovelace. Books 1-3 in the series would probably be great for her age. And I swear I wasn't going for "Betsy" themed books. :lol: :lol: Thanks, everyone. I requested and bought a bunch for her. :) Hopefully that helps with the nighttime fears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 :iagree: These are great, except for the ones read by that woman who pauses after every sentence. snooze. Didn't bother my 7yo, though. She also loved Socks by Cleary and Because of Winn Dixie by DiCamillo (which is read by the same narrator as the Little House books). Oh, yeah, that lady was soooo slooooow! It didn't bother my kids, either, though. I really liked the Henry Huggins one that was read by Doogie Howser/Barney- his name is totally slipping my mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I really liked the Henry Huggins one that was read by Doogie Howser/Barney- his name is totally slipping my mind! Neil Patrick Harris. I love his reading of Socks. Love! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 What about the Ramona and Henry Huggins books? And Ralph S. Mouse too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 They'd be short, but the Poppleton stories would be cute. What about Ginger Pye (or the other stories by Eleanor Estes) or Pippi Longstocking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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