(Our) Brief History of Audiobooks

and some tips and favorites

Hello, and happy Wednesday!

Today, we’re going to chat audiobooks. We’re huge into audiobooks around here, and before I start incorporating our favorites into my “regular” posts, I wanted to give you a little history on how we started listening—and how you can, too—even with older children.

A million years ago, when I thought this newsletter was going to be a blog (more on that here) my kids-about 4 and 8 at the time-were in the middle of listening to every single Magic Tree House book.

During afternoon rest time, the daily school commute, and long car trips, they sat (mostly) quietly and listened to author Mary Pope Osborne bring her stories to life. MPO (can I do that? I’m going to) narrates all 64 Magic Tree House audiobooks.

Anyway, because my kids loved listening to this series SO MUCH, I always had the name “The Magic Book House” jangling around in my brain.

Before you ask, no-my little kids didn’t just suddenly sit and listen to chapter books for hours on end. (MPO is good, but she’s not that good).

When my son was 5 and in kindergarten, his school was about 15-18 minutes away from home. Add in a wiggly almost-3-year-old who needed to come along, and those commutes seemed lonnnnng.

I’d gotten a picture book from the library that included a Read Along CD, and I remember popping it into my car’s player one morning. He sat quietly for the entire 6 minutes(!!) and then asked to listen again. Our audiobook journey took off after that, and we moved gradually from shorter stories (like ones from Dr. Seuss and Fancy Nancy) to longer chapter books and middle grade novels.

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Some tips for introducing audiobooks to kids

📚The car is the perfect place to introduce audiobooks. Even though we now live much closer to school, we still spend A TON of time in the car. And I’ll bet you do too. In the car, listeners are literally a captive audience. Also, on long road trips, some of our best family conversations have stemmed from the books we’ve listened to together.

📚Start with shorter titles or even story podcasts. Starting with shorter stories gets kids used to listening to books without the potential overwhelm of a long novel. Stories Podcast is great for younger kids, and I’ve heard great things about The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel for 9-12 year olds.

📚Listen to familiar books, or give an overview. Listening to audiobooks is a skill just like any other—it takes some practice. Luckily, kids are likely used to read alouds, so the learning curve isn’t too steep. It helps to listen to stories kids are familiar with-I think of it as giving them a jump start on honing the listening skill. Also, I’ll casually do a quick overview of a new audiobook just to give them an idea of plot, characters, etc. The key word here is casually… if I sound too excited about something or too “teacher-y” that’s a great way for my kids NOT to listen. 😂

📚Its ok to quit if your child isn’t connecting with the story (or the narrator!) Honestly, there are SO many great audiobooks out there, so please don’t force your kids to listen to something that they aren’t interested in. Actually, Sarah from Can We Read? just did a super thoughtful post on this very topic as it relates to print, so bop over there for her thoughts.

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There’s tons of research now on the benefits of audiobooks, so I’m not going to regurgitate that here.

✨I will say that audiobooks can benefit every child—the pre-reader, the avid reader, and perhaps most importantly— the struggling reader who has gotten so overwhelmed by the general WORK of reading that they’ve forgotten the magic of stories. ✨

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Now, a few favorites!

The Magic Tree House Series, written by Mary Pope Osborne (narrated by the author):

These are available as collections, so you can download several books at once. The listening time ranges from about 40 minutes (for the original books, geared toward younger kids) to 1.5 hours (for the Merlin Missions). My kids MUCH preferred the audiobook versions to the actual print books. I linked to the first collection, books 1-8. Recommended for ages 5-10

Humphrey the Hamster Audio Collection, written by Betty G. Birney (narrated by Hal Hollings and William Dufris):

There’s 12 books in this series about the adventures of a classroom hamster, and my kids-at ages 8 and 6-loved them all. However, I’d suggest checking out the narration first to make sure YOU can stomach it. (It’s an adult speaking in a hamster “voice.” Just saying). I had to include Humphrey because the stories completely captivated my kids for hours on end. Recommended for ages 5-9

The Henry Huggins Audio Collection, written by Beverly Cleary (narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, William Roberts)

If you’re an Audible member, use your monthly credit on this one: at 15 hours and 26 minutes, these classics are an incredible value. The collection includes all six of Beverly Cleary’s “Henry” books, and the narration, especially by Neil Patrick Harris, is fantastic. Recommended for ages 7-11

The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection, written by Beverly Cleary (narrated by Stockard Channing):

Hands down the best audiobook collection of the bunch. I should probably do a longer post on this series, but I couldn’t exclude Ramona from this first list of favorites. She’s an iconic, timeless character— and Stockard Channing is masterful as narrator. Our whole family has listened to this collection several times (I seriously think my daughter has listened to all 18 hours AT LEAST twice on her own) and we laugh out loud every. single. time.

Recommended for ages 6-11

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That’s all for today! Wishing you hours and hours of audiobook magic…

As always, please please reach out with any questions, and I’d love if you shared The Magic Book House with a friend.