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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

How to get your children to relax – and learn – on those long car trips

By Karen Macpherson Special to the Washington Post

For parents, long car trips can be anxiety-producing. Hours on the road – especially in traffic – can lead to some serious whining from the back seat. Never mind iPads and DVDs; audiobooks allow the whole family to enjoy a good book together. Plus, in recent years, many educators have embraced audiobooks as a way to attract reluctant young readers, increase language skills and boost reading comprehension. So children will not only be quiet, but they’ll also be learning.

Here are some suggestions for great car-ride listens. We broke down the choices by age, but you’ll enjoy them even if you’re old enough to be in the driver’s seat.

Ages 3 and up

“The Frances Audio Collection”: Actress Glynis Johns gives an inspired reading to four classic stories by Russell Hoban about the beloved badger Frances and her daily preschool dramas surrounding bedtime, eating and becoming a big sister.

“Little Bear Audio Collection”: Read by Sigourney Weaver and directed by Maurice Sendak, who illustrated Else Holmelund Minarik’s beloved tales of Little Bear and his mother.

“Winnie-the-Pooh” and “The House at Pooh Corner”: These classics sound like theater in the full-cast audio collection featuring actors Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and others.

Ages 6 and up

“Charlotte’s Web,” by E.B. White: It’s both thrilling and comforting to hear White matter-of-factly narrate his own tale of the remarkable friendship between a young girl, a pig and a spider. (White also gives an unforgettable reading in the audiobook of his 1970 classic, “The Trumpet of the Swan.”)

The Fudge books, by Judy Blume: Beginning with “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” Blume narrates her own stories about Peter Hatcher, the long-suffering older brother of a boisterous preschooler nicknamed Fudge. (Note: If you have a Santa believer in your family, be careful about Chapter 9 in “Superfudge.”)

“The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection,” by Beverly Cleary: These eight tales of the irrepressible Ramona Quimby detail her life from tantrum-prone toddler through fourth grade, and are memorably read by actress Stockard Channing.

Other good choices: “The Cheshire Cheese Cat,” by Carmen Agra Deedy, narrated by Katherine Kellgren and Robin Sachs, in which a cat who secretively craves cheese befriends a mouse; and “Young Fredle,” by Cynthia Voigt, the tale of a house mouse who discovers the joys and challenges of living outdoors, narrated by Wendy Carter.

Ages 8 and up

“Better Nate Than Ever,” by Tim Federle: Federle narrates the tale of a boy who battles sibling rivalry, bullying and other challenges in his quest to win a role in a Broadway musical.

The Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling: Narrator Jim Dale does an incomparable job of taking readers into the world and heart of the boy wizard. Dale is in Guinness World Records for “most voices in an audiobook” in 2008, for creating 134 distinct voices for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

“The Roald Dahl Audio Collection”: Dahl narrates five of his best-known tales, spotlighting the subversive humor for which children adore him. The books include “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory” and “James & the Giant Peach.”

“The Watsons Go to Birmingham” – 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis: “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton masterfully spotlights the unique mixture of humor and drama in Curtis’ unforgettable Newbery Honor-winning historical novel about a family caught up in a key civil rights event.

Other good choices: “Dead End in Norvelt,” by Jack Gantos, who reads his hilarious Newbery Medal-winning half-fictional memoir of growing up in the 1950s and ’60s; “Esperanza Rising,” by Pam Munoz, narrated by Trini Alvarado, about a girl whose world is shaken when her family migrates from Mexico to California; the Newbery Medal-winning “The Graveyard Book,” by Neil Gaiman, who deftly narrates his darkly humorous twist on Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”; and “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” by Grace Lin, a fantasy about a young girl’s courageous quest to improve her family’s fortunes, narrated by Janet Song.

Teen

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie: Narrated by Alexie, this raw, riveting and yet often humorous audiobook tells the story of Junior, a Spokane Indian teen who is pulled between two worlds as he leaves the reservation for a better education.

“Will Grayson, Will Grayson,” by John Green and David Levithan. Narrators MacLeod Andrews and Nick Podehl each give voice to a young man named Will Grayson – two vastly different characters who are brought together in their search for love and acceptance.

Other good choices: “The Wee Free Men,” by Terry Pratchett and narrated by Stephen Fry, who adeptly speaks the comical brogue of tiny blue men in kilts; “Revolution,” by Jennifer Donnelly, in which narrators Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering elegantly bridge the story’s two worlds – current-day Brooklyn and 18th-century France; and “In the Belly of the Bloodhound” and “Curse of the Blue Tattoo,” in which author L.A. Meyer describes the thrilling adventures of a plucky young woman named Jacky Faber.

MacPherson is the children’s and teen services coordinator for the Takoma Park Maryland library.