ladydusk Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 We have a long car trip (12 hours of driving one way) coming up and enjoy listening to audio books during trips. We've enjoyed The Hobbit, Narnia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Hotel for Dogs, Because of Winn-Dixie, Mouse and the Motorcycle, and Ralph S Mouse, and some of us have enjoyed Cat of Bubastes and Black Beauty. They've listened to lots of Librivox books, I can't even name them all. Any suggestions? My kiddos are 6, 7, and almost-9. They tend to be easily scared. I'm not opposed to purchasing something really good and classic but Librivox is good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 (Sorry, no Librivox recommendations here). My ds is 7, he enjoyed "Stories of the Pilgrims" read by Jim Hodges. He has recorded other books as well, e.g. Henty, some selections from Yesterday's Classics. http://www.jimhodgesaudiobooks.com/ Our local Christian radio station also broadcast excerpts of the missionary biographies written by Janet and Geoff Benge. We enjoyed those enough that we bought the audio books from the same publisher (YWAM). http://www.ywampublishing.com/c-101-audiobooks.aspx Classics.. we enjoyed E.B. White's reading of The Trumpet of the Swan. On the same page, Amazon also recommends "TheCricke t in Times Square", "Homer Price" and I remember those as being mild read-alouds though YMMV. http://www.amazon.com/The-Trumpet-of-the-Swan/dp/B000LV6QCE?tag=ap0a7eddd0-20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabinfl Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 My kids (6, 6, and 5) _love_ Uncle Wiggly (from audible.com). Also Charlotte's Web, and the Wizard of Oz. They have fun listening, and then watching the movies and picking out the differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 My son just listed to Cricket in Times Square and really enjoyed (narrator is also the voice of Luigi from Cars, Tony Shalhoub). Oh, Magic Tree House at that age. You can buy collections with several stories on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoZeeCo's Mom Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Percy Jackson all the way. I think we're on The Titan's Curse now, and they love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Sisters Grimm. There's several books in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Why we loved Story of the World by Jim Weiss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I forgot to add that audible.com has tons for great audiobooks for a great price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 In no particular order: Anything done by Jim Weiss, the master story teller who reads, I believe, The Story of the World. http://www.greathall.com/ Rascal by Sterling North is read by Jim Weiss Babe or any books by Dick King Smith books by Lynn Reid Banks, read by the author: Indian in the Cupboard series, I Houdini (about an escape artist hamster) books by E Nesbit such as Five Children and It, Railway Children Secret of NIMH Around the World in 80 Days as read by Jim Dale, The original Winnie the Pooh books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 The two biggest hits are: The Incredible Journey (Might be a little scray, but you could tell anyone who is frightened, "Every is okay and home safe in the end". Considering many of the audio books you listed it wouldn't be to scary.) Thor's Wedding Day (Very funny. Definitionly not scary.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 We listen to audio books pretty much every time we get in the car. Our biggest hits for kids 5-12 have been: Big Friendly Giant, narrated by Natascha Richardson; 2nd favorite Anne of Green Gables- the 5yr old wasn't that into it, but she didn't complain much. It was everyone else's favorite. James and the Giant Peach Blood Tide Cricket in Times Square Bunnicula and its sequels. Bunnnicula is not scary. Little House in the Big Woods We've just discovered audio book downloads from our library. I put them on my iphone and plug them into our car. It's free and there's a much bigger selection than our library has. Our library doesn't have much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Rascal by Sterling North is read by Jim Weiss We had listened to a lot of Jim Weiss in the car. Then we listened to, "The Incredible Journey" on a car trip. Then Dh told everyone we meet at the end of the journey how wonderful it was. For some reason I had to let him know several times that "The Incredible Journey" was not read by Jim Weiss. (It was read by Somebody Whitman). So I think he would love Rascal, assuming it wasn't sad or scary. In that regard (sad/scary) how does is compare to other books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 We had listened to a lot of Jim Weiss in the car. Then we listened to, "The Incredible Journey" on a car trip. Then Dh told everyone we meet at the end of the journey how wonderful it was. For some reason I had to let him know several times that "The Incredible Journey" was not read by Jim Weiss. (It was read by Somebody Whitman). So I think he would love Rascal, assuming it wasn't sad or scary. In that regard (sad/scary) how does is compare to other books? I love Rascal. I discovered it when I read it aloud to my kids when they were little and it is just one of those very special books -- funny, gentle, poignant, interesting because of the time in which it takes place. It is a memoir of a year in the author's life when he was 12 years old and adopted a baby raccoon. Of course most of the book is about the crazy antics of the raccoon, but you see the year 1919 through the eyes of a 12yo living in a small American town -- WWI, the flu epidemic, things like party lines on telephones. It isn't scary at all. I'm going to have to pull out my copy and re-read it -- I don't think we have a cassette player in the house so I can have Jim Weiss read to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 The Wind in the Willows The Secret Garden - I Iike audio for this because I find the dialect hard to read aloud well. any E.B. White book Jim Weiss' Shakespeare cd Hank the Cowdog - not great literature, but funny Max McLean's Pilgrim's Progress - a stretch for kids, but if yours know the story they might like it The Jungle Book and/or Just So Stories James Herriot's Treasury for Children D'aulaire's Greek Myths - we got this from Audible and my kids love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thanks, everyone, there's a lot of great ideas here ... we've read many of your suggestions and listened to some. My husband isn't up for Jim Weiss this trip, we've listened to tons of his CDs and listened to his Men of Iron on our last trip (I forgot that one). I think we're going to try out Kayray's The Swiss Family Robinson from librivox for the next trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 If you sign up at audible.com you get a free book. Just cancel the subscription before 30 days. When you cancel, they will offer you a 1/2 price subscription for 3 months that gives you a free book each month. Cancel at the end of 3 months and resign up after a year and get the same deal again. At Downpour.com get you one book for $6.95 if you sign up for an account. This is NOT the same as a subscription. I just got a $45.00 1st volume of Plutarch's Lives, which is over 40 hours of audio for $6.95. I didn't subscribe and waiting to see if they offer me any deals like Audible.com. In my state it's free to have library cards from all over the state. The capital city card is free in most state's. You can download audio from any library you have a card from. Currclick has Alcazar Audios. Sometimes they go on sale. I'm not a big fan of Librivox quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 We like Kayray as a reader on Librivox. Her quality is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 The Phantom Tollbooth, read by David Hyde Pierce. It was SO much fun to listen to, and even though we listened to it quite a while back, it has remained one of my kids' all time favorite audio books. And I recommend it every chance I get - it was that good! I saw too that someone recommended the Percy Jackson series, which is what we're going through right now. Very well done - we're on the fourth book and enjoying the series immensely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatohaleybug Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 The Swiss Family Robinson really dragged for us. I wouldn't recommend it. We've recently loved Johnny Tremain, Five Children and It, By the Great Horned Spoon, James and the Giant Peach and My Side of the Mountain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 If your library has Overdrive, you can get books there too. We listened to the first 3 Bunnicula books on a recent trip. I downloaded the books to my smartphone and played it through the vehicle's stereo system. My kids are 9, 6, and 4, and they liked Bunnicula. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Trumpet of the Swan read by EB White may be the best audio book ever! Little House on the prairie will keep you busy a long time. Good Stuff. We did all the 39 Clues last spring...surprisingly educational but maybe too scary. Reminds me of Magic Tree House for older kids. We like buying Adventures in Odyssey for trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Ones that I didn't see mentioned, and exciting enough for a car trip: --Snow Treasure --Ranger's Apprentice series --Rick Riordan Egyptian mythology series --NERDS series --Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom --Holes --Gregor the Overlander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 The Secret Garden, Sand Dune Pony, and A Bear Called Paddington are some of DD's favorites. She's listened to them several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsmm Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We have enjoyed many Roald Dahl books recently. I'd suggest Harry Potter, but if they are scared easily, then it might be too scary. My kids love HP, and the books are LONG so they work nicely for long trips. Mary Pope Osborne's Adventures of the Odyssey was great, but it might be scary, I suppose. Stuart Little, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan are all great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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