The kids turned in their summer reading list to the library the other day and a couple of the audio books we listened to while driving to our various outdoor adventures were real gems.

At the top of the list (and was recommended by a librarian at Baxter Library - Thanks Deanna!):
"The Skull of Truth" by Bruce Coville

It was a full cast of great voices and the story had the endearing characters and humor that made it enjoyable for not only the kids, but for their parents as well.

"The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Birdsall was another favorite (summer is the perfect time for this one). It wasn't the typical humorous or magical-type book that the kids usually prefer so I was pleased they expanded their horizons with a title they wouldn't have necessarily picked up on their own.

We also listened to a few books that the kids weren't so enthusiastic about. They really liked "Bright Shadow" by Avi right up until the end of the book when one of the main characters dies. The audio was great and kept their interest and they both said they understood about not getting all your wishes but didn't think the author had to kill anyone off. They were angry about it and there was no talking them in to agreeing it was a good book otherwise.

I can appreciate always wanting a happy ending. I'm pretty much an escapist reader myself.

I also took a chance on a classic, "The Enchanted Castle" by Edith Nesbit that was written in the early 1900s. The audio quality was terrible with the copy I had and the reader spoke too quickly. It was a bad combo. We kept with it until the 3rd disk before the kids said they'd had enough. We might try another Nesbit book but I'm going to have to more carefully preview it to make sure the reader and quality are better next time.

The kids 'reviewed' their favorite audio books for their YouTube channel and while there were some digressions with mentions of flying chickens, chatter boxes, Dulce the kitten and bad jokes, they did talk about the books too.

Well, they are kids and they like books enough to make a video about them.

Couldn't ask for more than that.

Favorite audio books (with title and author info at the end)

If you have a favorite audio book for kids, tell us about it! We're looking for new titles for the fall.