I’ve had lots of questions about what audiobooks are good to listen to on those long vacation car rides. We’ve listened to our fair share of them the past several years, so here are some that we highly recommend. For more audiobooks that we enjoy as well as headphones and CD players that we use, check out this link. (Share your family’s favorites in the comments below so we can add to our list!)
The Vanderbeekers (3 part series)
If you are a family who enjoyed the Penderwicks series, this one is similar. My kids devoured the Vanderbeekers book 1 and 2. We still need to listen to the most recent addition to the series. The Vanderbeekers have 5 kids who have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. In the first book, their curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, so the five siblings have 11 days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded landlord just how wonderful they are.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
My kids said that this story had a similar feel to The Wizard of Oz. They loved it. In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. Her father tells her old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune.
Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little & The Trumpet of the Swan
These three classics by E.B. White are always at the top of my recommendation list for younger kids. All three of my kids have listened to these (despite the fact that E.B. White is not my favorite audiobook storyteller).
The One and Only Ivan
I just mentioned this book to my daughter again the other day and she exclaimed, “Oh, I LOVED that book!” It was really really good. All four of us were drawn into this precious story of Ivan (the gorilla), Stella (the elderly elephant) and Bob (the stray dog). Ivan was a real gorilla that used to live at the Atlanta Zoo. We got to see his statue there when we visited last year.
Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon
If you have young kids and you need a fun, shorter audiobook to start them out with, I love recommending this series. Begin with book one (My Father’s Dragon) and if they love the storyline, continue on to book 2 (Elmer and the Dragon) and book 3 (The Dragons of Blueland). Book one is about a young boy Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. Short, entertaining, fun and overall delightful!
Echo
This is a book for older elementary and higher grades. I believe this book is a must to listen to instead of read in book form because it’s about a harmonica and the audio version has harmonica music added to it that makes the book that much more powerful. It’s about a boy (Otto) lost in the forbidden Black Forest, who meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each becomes interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. How their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo will resound in your heart long after the last note has been struck.
Edge of Extinction series
To say that all three of my kids (ages 11, 9 and 7) and I LOVED LOVED LOVED these two books is an understatement. If Jurassic Park and The Hunger Games had a baby, this would be it. It’s a kid-friendly version of those two storylines combined. Lots of adventure, near-death dinosaur encounters and courageous decisions between two friends who must stay alive in a lost world.
The Phantom Tollbooth
Another “Wizard-of-Oz-ish” type of book. We’re still in the middle of this audiobook, but the multiple voices played by the very talented Rainn Wilson has me laughing out loud often. There are many characters in this story and dialogue which quickly changes from one character to the next, and Rainn performs the story with such talent. Hailed as “a classic…humorous, full of warmth and real invention” (The New Yorker), this beloved story – first published more than 50 years ago – introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond. For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! If you like play-on-words, you’ll love the clever wit in this story.
