SierraNevada Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I just got an Audible membership and am looking for good suggestions. What are your favorite books-- selected especially for the reading and performance? I already have a list a mile long of great books I want to read, but I want great listens. Which audiobook versions have that irresistible voice? What other great voices are there out there that are like Jim Weiss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraNevada Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Oh and I'm looking for books read for the 6-12 yr old audience. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Some of my 7-year old's current favorites that have great narration are The One and Only Ivan (I can't listen without bawling; this is headphones-only in our house), The Water Horse, and Misty of Chincoteague (the narrations on the sequal novels--like Stormy, Misty's Foal--are not nearly as good). Oh, The Saturdays is good, too. We also really love the Peter Dennis version of Winnie the Pooh, though it is on the young side. DS still loves to listen to it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaderbee Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 My eldest loved Magic Tree House and the Ramona series. Though very fun I really don't know if I would go that route again. They have helped her build confidence in reading but outside of that and entertainment I don't think those two series really serve a higher purpose. Other favorites have been All of a Kind Family, Our Island Story, The Railway Children, Blue Fairy Book, Robin Hood, Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales, King Arthur, and there's more but that's all I'm recalling at the moment. I like the Shakespeare series, the Great Courses on eras of History and Opera, Zig Ziglar stuff, Pimsleur Spanish, Dune (this was awesome!) LOTR and The Hobbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I love the Harry Potter audio books read by Jim Dale. He does a great job of giving each character a different voice that just makes the stories come alive. I listen to these even when I am on a long drive by myself. We have also done Magic Tree House, Geronimo Stilton, And Ready Freddy. Hank the Cowdogs are fun too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 How to Train Your Dragon (David Tennant) DS LOVES everything by Jesse Bernstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellen Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Trumpet of the Swan read by E.B. White is my favorite of the dozens of audiobooks we have listened to. I read an excerpt to my daughter this week for WWE and I could hear the author's voice in my head. Paddington and Gooney Bird Greene are memorable. Neil Gaiman reading Odd and the Frost Giants is good. He has a great reading voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Bunnicula by James Howe. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. Both audiobooks have fabulous narrators. My teens enjoyed these as much as my youngers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 The Reader is very important to me. There are so many that I can no tolerate. I absolutely loved Christoper Plummer's reading of Alice in Wonderland and Throught the Looking Glass. Stockard Channing does an amazing job with the Ramona Series. Jim Dales is exceptionally good also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Their version of the Ender's Game series knocked my socks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 The audio version of Charlotte's Web read by E.B. White himself is wonderful. His accent changes the story immensely for me - it adds a cultural flavour that enriches the educational experience. Similarly does the BBC audio version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis), with an introduction to the series by the son of his spouse, Joy Davidman. I preferred The Cricket in Times Square (George Sheldon) audio version to my reading it aloud, as the music the cricket plays is actually heard on the audio version. The Lord of the Rings - If you just can't wade through it all on your own, the audio version is the way to go. It was 14 - 16 CDs per book, as every poem, song and description is included (and not skipped over like when I read it myself). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad astra Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 We got most of the audiobooks for kids mentioned above from the last Audible sale and our local library and love them all. We're currently listening to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland read by Jim Dale. If I had an Audible membership, my first credit would go to SWB's The History of the Ancient World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I can't believe I forgot the Ranger's Apprentice series. Just adore John's Keating's narration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 James Frain reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!! The Sword in the Stone read by Neville Jason Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Blackstone Audio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 My kids just finished up Lemony Snicket Bad Beginning and loved it (full cast). We are also doing Peter Pan, Septimus Heap, and the Hero's Guides. I'd definitely recommend the Ramona books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz done by Anne Hathaway was good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraNevada Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Thanks for all these great suggestions. I know that I can't tolerate Charolette's Web while driving! We'd both be crying and we'd end up in a crash in all likelyhood:). DS absolutely hated that book as it made him cry (he was enraptured till the end). SWB history of the world? I'm excited to hear that. Would it be good without Jim Weiss reading it? I can't imagine after SOTW! We ended up picking out Wind in the Willows read by Jim Weiss because we knew we could not go wrong with his reading of it. I'm excited to listen! And now I have a list of books to choose from for next month from all your great suggestions. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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