While Gameboys and TVs in cars make parents sane during summer treks, I wonder if they do what audio tapes did for my family. One of my fondest memories is how popping in an audio books changed moods and built literary memories. While newer technological advantages might provide instant relief, do they maximize the family connections cars can offer? Below find recommendations for listening and audios benefits for every age.
One of parents’ early read-aloud missions is getting children to fall in love with words. Why not let gifted readers help you out? Several weeks ago I gave a friend with three sons under the age of three the new audio of Gwyneth Paltrow reading Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle’s Brown Bear and Friends (Macmillan, $14.95, 1 CD, 1 hour). A day later, she strode up to me in a parking lot chanting its rhythmic verses and told me how her boys were repeating the lyrics non-stop. Paltrow’s dramatic reading mirrors calypso, jazz and classical backgrounds, or accents onomatopoeic verbs that define each animal. Parents will savor re-listening as much as children.
For children ready for simple stories, Doreen Cronin’s Dooby Dooby Moo (Scholatic, Weston Woods, 1 CD, $12.95) is a must-hear. The singy fourth book by the award-winning author has accompaniement, voice, and soundscape that blend into a magnificent story symphony. Randy Travis narrates with a drawl that fits the wacky farm where Duck, always the star of the barn, does a rendition of “Born to be Wild” that wins the animals a “slightly used” trampoline. Travis speedreads humorous asides, leaves room for snippets of duck’s sarcastic comments, and his bizarre musical interpretations perfect for singing along.
When I read aloud to young classes, I’m surprised at how often students miss references to the common folk and fairy tales. My children owed part of their knowledge to Rabbit Ears, an imprint that’s recently revived and is re-releasing stories. Rabbit Ears pairs celebrities from music and acting worlds to bring alive tales from the Bible, legend, fairy tales, and tall tales, giving artists the improvisational freedom that makes listening a joy for adults. In Rabbit Ears Treasure of Fairy Tales: Volume 2 (Listening Library, $11.95, 1 CD, 50 minutes) Michael Caine stresses wonderment as he reads King Midas and the Golden Touch while YoYo Ma merges classic and modern strains. Michael Palin’s many voice changes renews Jack and the Beanstalk as David Stewart’s music accents the tale’s magic. History and lore merge on Treasury of African American Heroes as Morgan Freeman reads Follow the Drinking Gourd with Taj Mahal’s original songs and music and Denzel Washington reads John Henry, accompanied by original music by B.B. King. (Listening Library, $11.95, 1 CD 48 minutes)
This is an awkward age in so many ways, the age of struggling readers and fidgety car riders. The solution for this, whether at home or mobile, is finding humorous, short stories that feature home or school situations. There are both in Judy Blume’s second sequel about two squabbling siblings, Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One (Listening Library, $14.95, unabridged, 1 CD, 1 hour 18 minutes). Kathleen McInerney reads with the perfect squeaky voice for the impetuous 1st grade Pain and his third grade older sister, the bossy Great One. She captures the perfect tone for acrimonious arguments with love lurking underneath. The dialogue feels believeable as do everyday situations of a lost tooth, an out-of-control pet day, and bullying threats. There’s even a cameo reading by Judy Blume as the wise cat, Fluzzy.
At this age, children are ready for longer tales, but what will you choose? You want novels that won’t bore you, have appropriate subject matter, and cross gender lines. Old-fashioned novels are one good solution, like the sequel to Jill Birdsall’s National Book Award winner, The Penderwicks. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (Listening Library, $34.00, unabridged, 6CDs, 7 hours, 41 minutes) finds the four motherless children dealing with dating as their miserable father follows instructions left in a letter from his wife, delivered years after her death. Crucial to this story is the unique portrayal of each girl, all fully realized by Susan Denaker who narrates in a voice that merges the story’s classical quality with a tale from today. The story is full of shining dialogue as each girl comes into her own. Rosalind, the eldest is the wonderer-worrier; Jane, the writer, is overdramatic; tomboy Skye is rough and ready and pre-school Batty has a squeaky voice that fits her eccentric young self.
Cars provide the freedom from direct eye contact that urges adolescents to talk and books can stimulate that tendency. Jerry Spinelli’s newest book, Smiles to Go (HarperAudio, $22.95, unabridged, 4 CDs, 4 hours). Ninth-grader Will Tuppence is besieged by his preschool sister Tabby, brilliantly portrayed in all her squeaky-screechy self by Conor Donovan. How’s a control freak-geek on the edge of adolescence supposed to survive? Aside from this small problem, he has life all figured out…but can anyone really control life when he learns life can change in an instant? The book’s conclusion, dealing with near death, is a great bridge to substantial discussion.
Your child has come into his own with reading-listening and the world of audio is open to you both. No longer do you have to satisfy young emotional needs, or listening levels, mutual enjoyment is now your goal. Here are several recommendations for fabulous listening.
Take on the intensity of a gripping novel like Gary Schmidt’s Trouble, read by Jason Culp (Scholastic Audiobooks, $34.95, unabridged, 8 CDs, 9 hours) “If you build your house far enough away from trouble,” Henry’s father tells him, “Then trouble will never find you.” Except it does, when Henry’s arrogant older brother is run down and killed by Chay, a Cambodian classmate and their safe Massachussetts town roils with anger and prejudice. Ironies and complexities build as Henry escapes to hike Maine’s Mt. Katahdin, and becomes road buddies with the also fleeing Chay. Jason Culp slips easily between emotions and from Cambodian to New England accents.