Audiobooks - recommend?

[frugalmama]

We've just discovered audio books, and are currently listening to The Secret Garden unabridged. DD is barely 4yo and LOVING it.

What are other good audio books for this age group? I'd prefer ones that are straight reading with just inflections - not the acted out with sound effects that are basically the sound track of a DVD.

[melissel]

There are so many good ones. My DD4 (almost 5) doesn't sit for too many chapter books yet, but she loved The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe with Michael York as the narrator (reader?). She also loves the A to Z Mysteries stories on audio.

I pretty much just scour my library system for audio versions of books that I love. 99% of the time they're great. Occasionally, like with the Magic Tree House books, I want to stick toothpicks in my ears, but both girls still love them and they're better than TV, so I just zone them out

Also, you might look and see if your state or library system is connected to an online audiobook download system. We have one called ListenNJ, and it's been wonderful.

HTH!

[SparklingGemini]

The Rabbit Ears Productions "talking stories" are really great.

They might not be exactly what you're looking for because there's usually 2-4 stories on the CD but I've found most of the stories to be well done with just a bit too much [background] music in some. But there's not really any bizarre sound effects.

Mostly, I'm posting because I'm looking for suggestions too!

[naturegirl7]

Anything by Jim Weiss is a hit here - plus they are educational too

[Daffodil]

A lot of 4 year olds would probably enjoy Magic Treehouse, Secrets of Droon, Junie B. Jones, or Stink. My 4 year old likes all those. Not great literature, not terribly interesting for adults to listen to.

Better books that would be interesting to some 4 year olds:
Winnie the Pooh/The House at Pooh Corner
My Father's Dragon
Igraine the Brave
books by Beverly Cleary
books by Dick King-Smith
Just-So Stories
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland

[Lillian J]

You might want to also look through some of the wonderful free audio resources online. Here are some threads that list quite a few:
Audio stories online
Free audio books for kids
What are your favorite fee audio resources?

Don't miss: Kiddie Records Weekly - Classics From the Golden Age
Fabulous forgotten treasures - children's records from the early 40s and 50s, including many classic stories, some of which were extravagant Hollywood productions. Downloadable to listen to free.

Lillian