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1Sodapop
Last year before we drove to Ohio for Christmas (from Georgia) I downloaded Artemis Fowl and The House at Pooh Corner to my iPod so my kids could listen to them on the long drive. They were a big hit. In fact Artemis was so good that we listened to the entire 3+ hourlong book on the drive up there.
We're driving to Northern New York for Christmas this year and I just downloaded The Tale of Desperaux. My kids have seen the movie trailers and my oldest son and I both enjoyed reading Because of Winn Dixie so I thought this would be something all 3 of them would enjoy. Here's the problem. I just listened to a little of it and the narrator's voice is going to put me to sleep! I don't mean that in a negative way. He's not boring or monotonous. His voice is lovely, just very calm and soothing.
So if anyone has listened to it already or read it can you tell me if there's going to be enough action, excitement etc. to keep me awake? And if not I'd appreciate any recommendations for something that might entertain a 12 year old boy, a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old girl but is lively enough to keep me awake!
We're driving to Northern New York for Christmas this year and I just downloaded The Tale of Desperaux. My kids have seen the movie trailers and my oldest son and I both enjoyed reading Because of Winn Dixie so I thought this would be something all 3 of them would enjoy. Here's the problem. I just listened to a little of it and the narrator's voice is going to put me to sleep! I don't mean that in a negative way. He's not boring or monotonous. His voice is lovely, just very calm and soothing.
So if anyone has listened to it already or read it can you tell me if there's going to be enough action, excitement etc. to keep me awake? And if not I'd appreciate any recommendations for something that might entertain a 12 year old boy, a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old girl but is lively enough to keep me awake!
2fyrefly98
The Tale of Despereaux is really good, but it's not quite what I would call action-packed. It's an adventure book, but there are definitely parts that are a little slower.
For other recommendations: I haven't read (or listened to) the Artemis Fowl books yet, but The Supernaturalist by the same author was a relatively short, fast-moving book that would probably be good for all of your kids, and was entertaining enough to keep me awake on a long drive myself. It's read by Chiwetel Ejiofor (the actor), and he's not particularly excitable, but I don't think he's particularly soporific, either.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson would be another one that all of your kids would probably enjoy, plus it's read by Jim Dale. Leaping Beauty by Gregory Maguire is a fun collection (read by the author) of fairy tales recast with animals instead of people - good for your kids, but enough snarky humor for the grownups, too. Neil Gaiman reading Coraline is another good one, although it might be a little too creepy for your youngest.
The audiobooks for His Dark Materials are really excellently done - they're full-cast instead of a single narrator, which usually annoys me but in this case I thought was wonderful. Tim Curry reading the A Series of Unfortunate Events books is also great.
For other recommendations: I haven't read (or listened to) the Artemis Fowl books yet, but The Supernaturalist by the same author was a relatively short, fast-moving book that would probably be good for all of your kids, and was entertaining enough to keep me awake on a long drive myself. It's read by Chiwetel Ejiofor (the actor), and he's not particularly excitable, but I don't think he's particularly soporific, either.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson would be another one that all of your kids would probably enjoy, plus it's read by Jim Dale. Leaping Beauty by Gregory Maguire is a fun collection (read by the author) of fairy tales recast with animals instead of people - good for your kids, but enough snarky humor for the grownups, too. Neil Gaiman reading Coraline is another good one, although it might be a little too creepy for your youngest.
The audiobooks for His Dark Materials are really excellently done - they're full-cast instead of a single narrator, which usually annoys me but in this case I thought was wonderful. Tim Curry reading the A Series of Unfortunate Events books is also great.
3Sodapop
Ohh Peter and the Starcatchers that's a great suggestion. My oldest son and I read that, when he was 8 or 9 and we both really enjoyed it. I think my 7 year old would really like it too and there's nothing too terribly scary for my 5 year old. (She has one of those Fisher Price mp3 players and listened to stories and songs on that while we listened to Artemis -- she didn't care for the Troll!)
Are their any good Christmas related audiobooks?
Are their any good Christmas related audiobooks?
4fyrefly98
I don't do very well at "themed" reading/listening, so the only thing I can think of is A Christmas Carol - Jim Dale does a very nice reading of it, and you might give it a try... but Dickens might not be the most kid-friendly choice.
Oh, and I guess there's The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror... but that's kind of severely inappropriate for the wee-uns. :)
Oh, and I guess there's The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror... but that's kind of severely inappropriate for the wee-uns. :)
5cyderry
Have they done the entire Narnia series? There's 7 books in all not just he two that have been made into movies.
6Sodapop
No they haven't done the Narnia series. My oldest son has read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and maybe one or two of the others (He has the whole set.), the younger two haven't read any of them. But I have to admit that I really could never get into The Lion, The Witch and the wardrobe when I was a child.
I just thought of another possibility - The Borrowers. Does anyone know if it's available as an audiobook and if so how is the Narration.
I just thought of another possibility - The Borrowers. Does anyone know if it's available as an audiobook and if so how is the Narration.
7katylit
Actually yes the entire Narnia series has been done in audio. Audible has it and I'm sure it must be available on CDs. Various actors narrate, like Patrick Stewart, Michael York, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacoby. It's not cheap, but I think each production is beautifully done.
And yup, The Borrowers is available too. I haven't listened to it, so don't know how the narration is, you can listen to a sample on Audible. Even if you're not a member, checking out Audible.com can be a good resouce to see what's available in audio. Then you can always see where else you can get it.
Sorry, I don't have shares in the company ;-), but I truly am a big fan.
And yup, The Borrowers is available too. I haven't listened to it, so don't know how the narration is, you can listen to a sample on Audible. Even if you're not a member, checking out Audible.com can be a good resouce to see what's available in audio. Then you can always see where else you can get it.
Sorry, I don't have shares in the company ;-), but I truly am a big fan.
8Sodapop
I meant my kids hadn't done it as in they haven't read it. LOL I think I will go listen to a clip of the Borrowers. Didn't know you could do that on Audible.
