Will you and your family find yourself in the car this summer?
Why not try enjoying a book as a family? KidsPost offers some suggestions for family listening.
For even more ideas, drop by your public library. Most branches have good selections of books on CD.
“The Big One-Oh,” by Dean Pitchford Read by the author About 41/2 hours Age 7 and older
All kids know about the “big one-oh.” Your 10th birthday. Double digits. But Charley Maplewood isn’t your typical kid. He’s never had a birthday party and hasn’t been to one in years, ever since a very unfortunate incident involving a pony. But this year, Charley really wants to celebrate. He wants friends and a cake and a “House of Horrors” theme. How he tries to pull it off is laugh-out-loud funny. But this story also has some sweet moments as Charley discovers the meaning of friendship and helps a lonely neighbor understand it, too.
“Here, There Be Dragons,” by James A. Owen Read by James Langton About 81/2 hours Age 10 and older
This incredibly clever tale starts off in London during World War I when three young strangers discover they are linked in their roles as caretakers of “The Imaginarium Geographica,” an atlas of all lands that have ever existed in legend and fable. The three find themselves fighting to save two worlds: the one they know and the one that exists in the Geographica, filled with dragons and fairies. The payoff for listeners when the real identities of John, Jack and Charles are revealed is so knee-slapping and jaw-dropping that everyone in the car will be talking about it for a long time. (There’s a sequel, “The Search for the Red Dragon.”)
“Freak the Mighty,” by Rodman Philbrick Read by Elden Henson About 3 hours 15 minutes Age 11 and older
This is the story of a friendship between a teen-age giant named Maxwell and a tiny boy named Kevin. Maxwell has a secret past; Kevin has an uncertain future. But for one summer, with Kevin riding on Maxwell’s shoulders, they become “Freak the Mighty,” engaging in adventures straight out of Kevin’s imagination. It’s funny and suspenseful, but it’s definitely for older kids because it raises some tough issues about good and bad parents, and life and death. It’s bound to prompt lots of family conversation.
“Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley” By Sally M. Walker Read by J.R. Horne About 21/2 hours Age 11 and older
This nonfiction book tells the tale of a little-known Civil War submarine, the ingenuity of its design and the search for answers to why it sank. (We’re not spoiling anything here; the Hunley was nothing if not an incredibly unlucky ship.) There’s real drama, but the story is best for kids who know a bit about ships and the history of the Civil War.
“Eleven,” by Patricia Reilly Giff Read by Staci Snell About 3 hours 20 minutes Age 9 and older
Who says boys and girls can’t be friends? That’s the premise of this tale of mystery and friendship set in a small town. Caroline is the new girl in town, afraid to get close to anyone because she knows she will be moving; she always moves. But that’s before she meets Sam, a boy whose dark dreams have the number 11 woven into them. Caroline and Sam set out to solve the mystery of Sam’s past. It’s a story that boys and girls are bound to enjoy equally.
“The View from Saturday,” by E.L. Konigsburg Read by Rick Adamson, L.J. Ganser, Agnes Hermann, Aasif Mandvi, Barbara Rosenblat and Jeff Woodman About 5 hours, Age 8 and older
This listening experience is different from most books on CD because there is more than one reader. It’s a bit like hearing a play, which is delightful. The story is about four middle-schoolers who make up the Academic Bowl team, but in the hands of Konigsburg (If you haven’t read her “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,” you really must!) it’s really about how people’s differences make the world interesting, what makes a team stronger and what makes friendships last a lifetime.
“Whales on Stilts,” by M.T. Anderson Read by Marc Cashman About 3 hours Age 7 and older
What’s an average, ordinary 12-year-old girl to do when she finds out that her dad works for an evil genius who plans to unleash an army of stilt-walking whales with laser-beam eyes on an unsuspecting world? Call on her best friends, technogeek Jasper Dash and zombie fighter Katie Mulligan, of course. Yes, this is incredibly silly, with no deeper message beyond the one that laughter and friendship are good things. Nothing wrong with that.
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