Me, about to be entertained while stuck in traffic.
It was Kendrick who first introduced me to Audible. (If you’re not familiar with Audible, it’s a site where you can download and listen to books, magazines, and radio and TV programs; you can download a book as part of a free thirty-day trial trial here if you want to try it out.) He’d been using the Audible app on his phone to listen to books on his way to and from school, making the hour-and-a-half drive both more fun and more constructive: he chose books he’d always wanted to read but had never had time to dive into, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude. And then we drove cross-country with two kids, and discovered that Audible isn’t just a cool way to easily access and listen to tons and tons of books – it’s a way for the whole family to listen to them together.
When driving long distances, there’s always a temptation for each person to settle into their “thing.” The driver is listening to the radio; the passenger is reading a book; the kids are watching iPads or drawing or whatever. But to us, a big part of the constant road-tripping that we do is getting to spend all that concentrated time in the car together – and honestly, there are few things more fun than getting to introduce your children to your favorite books from childhood (while getting to enjoy them yourself all over again). So we decided to incorporate audio books into our drives, making the discovery – and rediscovery – of these books not just a solitary joy, but a family pastime.
Scarlett Johannson reads Alice in Wonderland! Cool.
Speaking of those old favorites from childhood: I have been anxiously awaiting the moment when Indy arrived at an age where we could start reading the books I loved when I a kid – many of which remain some of the best books I’ve ever read – and we’ve been rocketing through them. Eeeee I love it. And eeee am I ever awaiting the moment when I can introduce Goldie to Anne of Green Gables (the first chapter book I read as a little girl and a story that I can’t even picture in my head without getting all misty-eyed).
Some personal recommendations for books that the whole family can listen to together (but please be aware that a few of these titles may be too scary for very young children):
- Alice In Wonderland The Roald Dahl Audio Collection (Kate Winslet narrates Matilda and The BFG, which is pretty awesome)
- Charlotte’s Web (read by author E.B. White)
- The Peter Rabbit Collection
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- The Little Prince
- The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (performed by Anne Hathaway)
- D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (we’re making our way through this right now, and Indy is obsessed)
Free Audible Trial!
If you’d like to try Audible out yourself, click here to download the book of your choice as part of a free 30-day trial. And if you have any great-for-all-ages favorites yourself, I’d love to hear them! The longer the list we have, the better.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all mine.
