Books on tape that the whole family can listen to?

[emelsea]

We've listened to all the HP books.

I have a 14yo boy and an almost 4yo boy.

Any suggestions for something that won't make the 14yo roll his eyes in a seizure-like manner?

BTW - the longer the book, the better. We have about 16 hours in the car ahead of us.

[amcal]

What a fabulous question!!!! We're going on a road trip in October and I was planning on just bringing the DVD player but the movie playing in the car is so annoying. But, a book we can all listen to would be wonderful!

I read Marley and Me last year and it is very family friendly. The only issue was a miscarriage early on in the book and the dog does die at the end but, it's handled in such a beautiful and loving way.

You might want to post this in the books and media forum - I bet they would have tons of ideas.

[emelsea]

Originally Posted by amcal

What a fabulous question!!!! We're going on a road trip in October and I was planning on just bringing the DVD player but the movie playing in the car is so annoying. But, a book we can all listen to would be wonderful!

I read Marley and Me last year and it is very family friendly. The only issue was a miscarriage early on in the book and the dog does die at the end but, it's handled in such a beautiful and loving way.

You might want to post this in the books and media forum - I bet they would have tons of ideas.

Ah, thank you. I knew there must be a forum about reading, but I couldn't remember.

I'm not sure about a book where a dog dies...I'm doing the driving and I'm likely to start bawling.

[Mama2Bug]

The Harry Potter books on CD are wonderful. I like to listen to them when I walk and DH enjoys them in the car from time to time. My almost 4 year old doesn't understand every word, but she does seem to enjoy the general plot. If nothing else, the reader has a soothing voice, so she dozes off. Personally, I like the voice of the man who does the UK CDs better than the US version, but they're both good. Since there are several books in the series, you could easily fill the whole trip.

[WhaleinGaloshes]

Tolkein? I had the Fellowship of the Ring on CD and it was kind of fun to hear the author sing all the songs and rhymes.

Maybe the Narnia series.

[boatbaby]

http://www.greathall.com/

Stories read by Jim Weiss. There are historical ones that are fun and adventurous, yet not scary for a 4 year old.
My 4 year old LOVES the Greek Myths one and the King Arthur one... we love them all!

[Momily]

Originally Posted by emelsea

We've listened to all the HP books.

I have a 14yo boy and an almost 4yo boy.

Any suggestions for something that won't make the 14yo roll his eyes in a seizure-like manner?

BTW - the longer the book, the better. We have about 16 hours in the car ahead of us.

We just finished the Charlie Bone series and really enjoyed it -- a little shorter than HP but still 5 good sized books on tape.

When DS (9) was a little younger we did the Bunnicula series on tape -- it's aimed a little younger than 14 but ridiculous enough for your older one.

Our all time favorite books on tape have been Cornelia Funke's Dragonrider and Inkheart/Inkspell. A bit old for 4 (no more so than HP) but incredibly well written and narrated.

Right now we're doing a book called Firewing about bats in the underworld that's fantastic, but probably a little old/dark for a 4 year old

[SkyMomma]

My almost 5 yr old likes Kiplings Just so Stories (although we've edited out the story about the baby elephant--too much spanking). He also loves the "My Father's Dragon" series, The Mouse & the Motorcycle (b. Cleary) & the Wind in the Willows (a wonderfully long 6 cds!!!) -- although these are a little younger feeling. We've also enjoyed the different story compilations from Barefoot Books. All of these may be OK for your older child, particularly the Kipling & the Wind in the Willows.

We love the language of the classics, but are careful about exposure to violence, so haven't yet introduced the Chronicles of Narnia. But, depending on your children's sensativity, that may hold the interest of both. And 7 books would take you a while to get through! You may also think about the Roald Dahl books (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, etc) -- again a little too dark for my DS, but my friend's 5 yr old loves them & they're fantastic enough to hold your older boy's interest.

In a completely different direction ~ we've also found some interesting things in the adult-non-fiction tapes. DS is getting interested in space & we found some taped versions of Carl Sagan's cosmos that he listened to on a long drive for hours. This was particularly appealing for DH & I, we get to learn as we drive! We're currently working our way though "A Short History of Nearly Everything". I was surprised how appealing our DS has found these -- Of course, we have to take breaks for questions every so often.

Enjoy your trip

BTW ~ We listen to alot of books on cd & music as a family, but found that, on really long, multiple-days trips, it's was useful for DS to have his own 'walkman' & headphones. Just for those times when we all need a little space from each other...or when Mama & Daddy just can't listen to that particular story anymore. We taped a bunch of story CD's, made mix tapes of favorite music, etc. He has his box of tapes & his tape player for anytime he needs to 'tune out'.

[Mama2Bug]

Originally Posted by emelsea

We've listened to all the HP books.

How did I miss this? My reading comprehension was totally not up to snuff last night.

[AAK]

How about the Redwall series?

[MommaFox]

When we were on vacation to Florida, we listened to The Chronicles of Narnia, it's a good long story and we managed to hear the whole thing (minus "A Horse and His Boy" as it really doesn't contribute much to the plot overall). The Lemony Snicket books are also good, and much more bearable to hear than to actually have to read. If the 14yo is craving something a little rougher, and you just can't stand to hear them again, set the 4yo up with a headset and choose from the many, many read-alnog titles or just get teh Dr Seuss collection on CD. Good luck!

[Teresa221]

I was going to recommend The Chronicles of Narnia and Lemony Snicket too

Often on road trips dh and I play Garrison Keillor CD's. We have some of the whole Prairie Home Companion shows and another CD with just "Tales from" (the storytelling". I much prefer just the stories and the kids have enjoyed them too.

We also have a CD of Dave Barry reading one of his books - which is just compilations of his newspaper articles.

[robin3]

We just listened to Eragon and Eldest on CD on a couple of long car trips. Our son is 8. We're looking forward to the third in the series, Brsinger!

[CalaRei]

The lemony snicket audiobooks are read FANTASTICALLY.

I'd suggest Hatchet, but I think it's a little too mature for your 4 y/o. A lot of my favorite YA books are, apparently.

Harriet the spy would probably be ok. Indian in the Cupboard? Boxcar Children? Secret Garden. Wind in the Willows. The Little Princess. Phantom Tollbooth?

Check through the Librivox catalog for free ones of books that are in the public domain.

[UUMom]

The Dahl books are great fun for all. My 19 yr old read Witches to his little sister and had a great time revisiting it. The BFG is another good one--plus Matilda, Boy, Charlie --- oh, the list is long!

If you like HP, you will probably like the Artemis Fowl series,, which is very clever. Ian Colfer has writen a number of books and all are pretty appealing to a wide age range. I loved them myself.

The Spiderwick Chronicles are fun as well.

We revisited the entire Narnia series on audio the year my youngest was 4; we were all on a knitting frenzy and needed our hands free.

Odds Bodkin's (Odd Bodkins? I can never remember lol) retelling of The Odyssey is also worth a listen or two. We always laugh at his crazy voices.

[mama_ani]

I would say The Chronicles of Narnia, Lemony Snicket, Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter

[lawgrrl]

My six year old DS and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to _The City Under the Back Steps_ on a recent road trip. Interesting story/plot about a little boy and girl who are reduced to "ant size" and also fascinating facts (about ants and their communities).

Also a second thumbs-up for the Roald Dahl stories - my son especially liked listening to James and the Giant Peach and Mathilda, but found The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) a little bit scary last year.