With the holidays around the corner, there may be a long car ride in your family’s future. Here are some suggestions for finding an audiobook that the whole family will enjoy.
At first glance, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book might seem more suited to Halloween, but this spooky coming-of-age story with a twist is a perfect listen any time of year. After toddler Bod’s family is killed, he takes refuge in the graveyard, where he is “parented” by its kindly— but dead—denizens. The audiobook is read by Gaiman himself and Another cool feature of the audio is the way that each CD is a self-contained piece of the adventure. In other words, no more changing CDs in the middle of a chapter! Gaiman has said that this is his play on Kipling’s The Jungle Book, and it makes me want to revisit that classic. Don’t be frightened by the seemingly dark subject matter, the story is really no darker than another tale of an orphan whose parents are killed. (You know, Harry Potter.)
Speaking of Harry Potter, you might also try something seasonal, A Christmas Carol as read by Jim Dale, famous for his Harry Potter audiobook performances.
One great thing about both of these audio presentations is what delicious stories they are. I can see listening to each of these stories year in and year out, creating a new holiday tradition.
While I’m not promoting Gaiman’s audiobook as a way to win something, it’s worth a try.