The star
of this newsletter is Audible’s Best of the Year feature—check out our rather sizeable selection of best listens, category pages, trends, and features from 2019 below, including my picks for best kidlit listens of the year. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!I’ve been writing this newsletter for about half a year now, and it’s still a thrill. I’ve been working with kidlit for over a decade, and it’s the main genre I consistently return to for my own listening pleasure, so writing this one feels like a culmination of another year working in kidlit. Here’s to many more editions—and remaining a child at heart.
There’s lots to look forward to from Audible in 2020, but we’ll dig into those in the New Year. Until then, I hope your holidays are happy—and that some of the listening experiences below enhance (or help you survive) the holiday season.
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Foreverywhere
- By: Steve Burns, Steven Drozd, Gabe Soria
- Narrated by: Steve Burns, Carly Ciarrocchi, Stephanie Mayers
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,091
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,509
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,493
Foreverywhere tells the tale of a young unicorn (perhaps the last on Earth?!) and his quest, along with a Giant named Rick, a spider named Betsy and the guitar-shredding Princess Rainbow, to form the best band in the fantastical world of Anyville. But first, they’ll have to contend with the increasingly strange weather that seems to follow Princess Rainbow everywhere, and a rival band determined to bring them down. Will this group of misfits be able to rise above?
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5 out of 5 stars
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My new favorite Audible Original
- By GranularGray on 08-05-19
The very best of 2019
What a great year for kidlit. Picking five winners from the entire catalog was a nightmare and a dream all at once, but I’m happy with the chosen five—there’s great variety, and each one did something exceptional. When you’re done checking out the best of Kids, I encourage you to check out the rest of our BOTY feature as we’ve got plenty of fun categories to peruse, like Minnesota is Having a Moment
(shout-out to my home state!), narrator-chosen favorite listens, featured interviews from the year (including my interview of R.L. Stine), and, of course the Audible Editors’ top 10 overall listens of 2019.
Peep the Picks
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The Flying Flamingo Sisters
- By: Carrie Seim
- Narrated by: Gabriel Vaughan, Bill Andrew Quinn, Jessica Almasy, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,773
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,745
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,723
This hilarious, heartfelt, and soaring adventure will delight fans of The Goonies and Indiana Jones. Performed as a 1930s radio drama, it’s bursting with humor for all ages, orchestral scoring, and some of the most talented voices on Broadway. When their ace pilot parents (and adorable puppy) mysteriously disappear over the Pacific, the Flamingo Sisters - Flo, Faye, and Franny - escape the clutches of their evil Uncle Freidrich (who believes girls should never pilot aeroplanes) and join a flying circus.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A rollicking good time!
- By Cda123 on 12-12-19
If Lara Croft’s kids were aerial stunt performers…
The Flying Flamingo Sisters is very much in the spirit of a 1930s radio play, complete with a full cast of excellent voice actors, sound effects that punctuate the action or humor, and newsreel-style narration. But more than anything else, I appreciated the lively, playful orchestral music that permeates the listening experience. And when the three sibs get their hands on what looks like a treasure map? The adventures really start to soar.
Take Off!
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The Double Dangerous Book for Boys
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
Parents looking to get their kids off screens can use this book to fill weekend afternoons and summer days with wonder, excitement, adventure, and fun - learn to build go-carts and electromagnets, identify insects and spiders, and fly the world’s best paper airplanes. This charming and practical guide will ignite the imagination and stimulate curiosity, and provide grandfathers, fathers, sons, and brothers the opportunity to deepen their bonds.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A lot of fun
- By Monica on 04-16-23
I wanted adventures, catapults, crystals, knowledge, histories, and craftsmanship.
This line from author Conn Iggulden was his motivation for writing the first installment of The Dangerous Book for Boys series in 2007, but it also nicely summarizes this follow-up listen. It’s a veritable cornucopia of interesting and useful information for subjects boys have traditionally been interested in; with that said, I know plenty of young women who will be interested in the subject matter too, from making perfume to picking locks to awareness of one’s rights in a civil sense. I’m a fan of its hide-this-book-from-your-parents
vibe because it encourages kids’ curiosity and does a fantastic job of fostering the thirst for secret (or at least uncommon) knowledge. This listen is a great opportunity to discuss agency and masculinity with your own boys (and girls). Note: some sections of this are enhanced by the accompanying PDF in your Audible library.
Feed Curiosity
New & Upcoming Listens
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Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja
- By: Marcus Emerson
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
My name is Chase Cooper, and I'm a 6th grade ninja. It's my first day at a different school and the only person I know is my cousin, Zoe (but she might be a little too cool for me). I was just another scrawny kid until a group of ninjas recruited me into their clan. It was a world of trouble I wasn't prepared for, which is why I kept this diary (or "chronicle" as my dad would call it) - to warn other kids about the dangers of becoming a ninja. They say history is destined to repeat itself...well, not if I can help it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing boo
- By Anonymous User on 04-17-20
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Race to the Sun
- By: Rebecca Roanhorse
- Narrated by: Kinsale Hueston
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 257
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 222
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Story5 out of 5 stars 220
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission, which can only be done with the help of Navajo gods.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Story (if you’re willing to take a 53-year-old white guy’s word for it)
- By Ronald on 01-25-20
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Isaac Newton
- The Giants of Science Series, Book 2
- By: Kathleen Krull
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
What was Isaac Newton like? Secretive, vindictive, withdrawn, obsessive, and oh, yes, brilliant. His imagination was so large that, just “by thinking on it”, he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity. Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. This compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.
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Dragon Planet
- By: Dan Wells
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Steve Rimpici, Margaret Ying Drake, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,870
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,395
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,389
The colonists from the Pathfinder have arrived on Kaguya, a planet with low gravity but a very dense atmosphere. It’s fun to jump around, but the air makes you loopy - and worse than that, the heavy atmosphere means that wind storms, although rare, are absolutely devastating. Zero and Nyx help to get everything locked down before the first big storm, but they stumble onto a group of thieves who have stolen some mining equipment. Before the kids have a chance to get away and tell anyone, the storm hits and the massive winds carry them far away.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book!
- By Holly on 01-20-20
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Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja
- By: Marcus Emerson
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
My name is Chase Cooper, and I'm a 6th grade ninja. It's my first day at a different school and the only person I know is my cousin, Zoe (but she might be a little too cool for me). I was just another scrawny kid until a group of ninjas recruited me into their clan. It was a world of trouble I wasn't prepared for, which is why I kept this diary (or "chronicle" as my dad would call it) - to warn other kids about the dangers of becoming a ninja. They say history is destined to repeat itself...well, not if I can help it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing boo
- By Anonymous User on 04-17-20
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Race to the Sun
- By: Rebecca Roanhorse
- Narrated by: Kinsale Hueston
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 220
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission, which can only be done with the help of Navajo gods.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Story (if you’re willing to take a 53-year-old white guy’s word for it)
- By Ronald on 01-25-20
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Isaac Newton
- The Giants of Science Series, Book 2
- By: Kathleen Krull
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
What was Isaac Newton like? Secretive, vindictive, withdrawn, obsessive, and oh, yes, brilliant. His imagination was so large that, just “by thinking on it”, he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity. Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. This compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.
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Dragon Planet
- By: Dan Wells
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Steve Rimpici, Margaret Ying Drake, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,870
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,395
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,389
The colonists from the Pathfinder have arrived on Kaguya, a planet with low gravity but a very dense atmosphere. It’s fun to jump around, but the air makes you loopy - and worse than that, the heavy atmosphere means that wind storms, although rare, are absolutely devastating. Zero and Nyx help to get everything locked down before the first big storm, but they stumble onto a group of thieves who have stolen some mining equipment. Before the kids have a chance to get away and tell anyone, the storm hits and the massive winds carry them far away.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book!
- By Holly on 01-20-20