audiobooks.

One of my kids recently informed me that we have over 100 audiobooks in our Audible library. I was so surprised. I’ve added to our collection over the last eight or nine years, mostly just one title a month. A few times there’s been a sale on classics, and I’ll buy several books for under $5 (for instance, the Green Ember series by S.D. Smith is currently on sale for $4 a book).

I know I’ve mentioned audiobooks often on the blog, but I thought I’d give you an update of how we use audiobooks in our house by answering some of the questions I get regularly.

Years ago, I remember writer and podcaster Sarah McKenzie saying that a big way to get kids interested in reading is to make reading books entertainment in your home. As much of a bookworm as I am, this had never occurred to me. But it’s actually what we do, and it’s one of the main reasons we limit screen time. During the week, the kids aren’t allowed to watch any shows unless we watch something together as a family at night. And they get about an hour each weekend day. They may get some video game time this summer too, we’ll see if they’re meeting certain expectations in other areas.

For that to work, here’s the catch: reading (or listening) has to be your entertainment too, and your husband’s, if you’re married. You can’t tell them to develop a love of reading when you sit and watch TV every evening. Painful, but true. They’re much more likely to love what you love, not what you tell them to love. My kids love hiking and exploring the river because David loves it. I’m not saying reading has to be your favorite thing to do, but it should be a way you use your free time to some extent for them to view it as valuable and fun.

It’s not that I’m so utterly against screens as entertainment. My kids watched the equivalent of a movie daily for years when they were little just so I could retain some sanity, and we usually have a couple family shows going and a weekly pizza movie night. It’s more that it takes up time in the day that I want us to spend in other ways.

And so for our family, audiobooks are one of the hobbies that have filled the void of shows and video games.

 

 

Okay, now for the first question I get asked, When is a good age to start?

That’s an interesting one, because several of my friends started enjoying audiobooks with their kids earlier than we did. So much so that I despaired of our kids ever being interested. If you’re not sure, I’d say try it out and if your child seems bored, don’t worry a bit. Just wait several months or a year and try again. Or better yet, give them something to do (like coloring or Lego’s), and you sit with a cup of coffee and enjoy the audiobook. Your enthusiasm will be contagious. Actually it’s always surprised me how happy it makes my kiddos to watch me sit and relax and enjoy an audiobook with them.

I’m pretty sure Judah and Amie were about 7 and 5 when they really began to get hooked, and Gabe and Noah were even older.

 

Second, When do we listen to audiobooks?

We used to have a book that we all five listened to as part of our school morning (or I read aloud), although that’s shifted to just the three younger kids and me since Judah has a lot more school work now. I still enjoy reading aloud to them, but there are certain series that we love the narrators to — the readers have almost become as much a part of our memories as the stories themselves — and it enables me to jump up and switch the laundry or fix my breakfast or take the dog out if need be.

The other main time that the kids listen is during their two-hour daily room time. Although, everyone knows that they’re allowed to be playing outside during that time if they prefer. Judah usually takes a break from school and listens for an hour, then does his run. Amie listens to her current audiobook and paints or sketches. And Noah builds Legos while he listens (Judah does this too, still!).

Actually each of those three confided in me that audiobooks have become their favorite way to decompress when they’re upset or just overloaded on homework or people. I love this.

Gabe will always jump in on an audiobook, but has never actively chosen to listen to one on his own; he prefers Rubix cubes, puzzles, the trampoline, or Sodoku for stress relief and alone time.

You may be surprised to hear that we actually don’t listen a ton in the van, unless we’re on a road trip. Mostly this is because we don’t have a long commute anywhere currently and we all love music so much that we typically take turns with our playlists. But Fridays are my and Noah’s “errand day.” He comes with me to grocery shop and anywhere else I need to go while the big kids do school at home (i.e. they get a lot more done when Noah’s not around!), and we listen to his current audiobook together. It’s such a special time for us.

From time to time they’ll listen in the evening before bed, although typically we’re hanging out as a family then. Judah and Amie have a later bedtime than the boys, so she’ll often listen on my phone with earbuds so she can be out in the living room with the rest of us who are reading.

We do have hours in the day to listen due to homeschooling, but if we went to school, I’d just have us listen in the van on the way to and from, then I’d use audiobooks for my kids’ down time after school and before homework.

 

 

So next question: Why do you have an Audible account rather than borrow books through the library app?

I did it initially because there was a wait time on a lot of the books we wanted to listen to. I put a monthly Audible membership in our homeschool budget, and have cancelled it on and off when there isn’t anything in particular I want to purchase (the great news is that you can keep the books in your Audible library even when you stop subscribing).

I really just wanted to take away any hindrances to my kids reaching for an audiobook as often as possible. And when they’re bored, I’ll tell them to browse the Audible library for what they want to start next. I have made sure though that when I actually purchase a book it’s one I know they’ll re-listen to or it’s a classic or comes highly recommended. But we still use the Hoopla app with our library often and I know many of my friends use it solely for audiobooks.

 

Third, In your opinion, are audiobooks just as good as reading?

Yes and no. In the end you’re still passively listening, rather than actively reading. All four of my kids have to read daily for school, and read for pleasure from too (a great way that I’ve gotten my less-than-enthusiastic readers to read is giving them a later bedtime for the purpose of reading. Also headlamps are super fun!). But my goal is for them to love books. And so if they way the come to love books is through audiobooks, then that’s a win in my mind.

I also have two kids with dyslexia, and their reading comprehension is above what they can read on a page; also it just takes longer for them to read than the others. Audiobooks enable them to enjoy so.many.more stories than they would otherwise.

Having said that, my kids listen to quality audiobooks. If it’s a less-well-written series — The Magic Treehouse or Diary of a Wimpy Kid or something like that — then they can get those from the library and read them to their heart’s content. But when I choose audiobooks I’m looking for rich language and creative storytelling and character growth. So I think audiobooks can be just as valuable, for kids or adults, if you’re careful to choose books with quality, that help form you into a more creative, compassionate person (and I believe that fiction does that just as well as non-fiction, by the way). I look for books that expose us to what’s true, good, and beautiful.

I cannot tell you the amount of wonderful conversations we’ve had over choices characters made — both good and bad choices — and the lessons they learned as a result.

And I have just as many good memories of our audiobooks as the kids. In fact, I don’t personally love listening to audiobooks on my own because I’m such a visual learner. I’d always chose reading words on an actual, paper page for myself.

But I’ve listened to hours upon hours with the kids over the years so that the memories of our family are all wrapped up in the stories. We’ll often quote lines to one another or reference characters as if they’re actual people we know. I’ve listened to the entire Henry Huggins and Ramona series dozens of times, and listening now (again) with Noah both reminds me of the the last time I listened with him and Gabe, and all the times I listened along with Judah and Amie when they were 7 and 8 and 9. Such sweet memories. Noah and I are loving Henry Huggins all over again because now Noah has a dog, just like Henry. So everything Ribsy does makes us laugh in a new way because we compare him to Kira.

 

 

Finally, What are some of our favorites?

This is probably all you were really looking for in my post, right? Here you go:

The Harry Potter series,

The Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins series (and all other books by Beverly Cleary)

The Melendy series, starts with The Saturdays

The Vanderbeeker series, starts with The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

The Complete Sherlock Holmes collection, narrated by Stephen Fry (this is 60 hours long, and Judah has listened to it in its entirety twice!)

Little House on the Prairie series

The Penderwicks series

The Boxcar Children series

How to Train Your Dragon

The Chronicles of Narnia series

Peter Pan (narrated by Jim Dale)

Five Children and It, The Psammead Trilogy, The Railway Children (anything by Edith Nesbit)

A Little Princess

The Secret Garden

Understood Betsy

The Anne of Green Gables series

Little Women

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (make sure you get the one narrated by Anne Hathaway, she’s fantastic)

The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings series (narrated by Rob Inglis)

A Place to Hang the Moon

All-of-a-Kind Family series

A Girl of the Limberlost

Echo

All Creatures Great and Small

Cheaper by the Dozen

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

A Christmas Carol

 

Judah would like me to add that while he’s a voracious reader (my word, not his), he became interested in classic literature through audiobooks. His favorite authors are Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, and he’s 30 of 39 hours into Don Quixote, which is no small feat if you ask me (who read about a quarter of the book before giving up). I never “made him” read the classics; I really attribute it to being continually exposed to great children’s literature. It was natural for him to move to great adult literature as he got older.

I hope that this is helpful to you! Please don’t let lack of time make you feel like you can’t develop this hobby; just like with reading at all, it’s far better to start small, with something, than not start at all. And if you have audiobooks your family enjoys, please be sure to let us know!