2/29/2024 0 Comments Best books on tape for road trips![]() (“The stairs didn’t go back and forth with regular turns but were completely unpredictable, turning left and then right before curving in a circle. You thought your kids’ summer was full of adventure? Turns out they’ve got nothing on Brian and his cousin Nora, who get lost in the woods behind Nora’s house and discover an enormous secluded wooden house, which seems to defy gravity with its ramshackle balconies and turrets jutting out at improbable angles. The Matchstick Castle, by Keir Graff narrated by Michael Crouch (Ages 8-12) ![]() If we find ourselves feeling nostalgic for our (or our children’s) imaginary friends, it is owing to the exceptional combination of Goldstrom’s vocal theatrics with Michelle Cuevas’ exquisite language. It turns out Michael Goldstrom’s employment of an exaggerated French accent to perform Jacques’s first-person narration adds delicious absurdity to the tale at the same time that it seduces us with philosophical musings. (An imaginary friend who needs therapy? Sign me up.)īut now I see I was merely biding my time until the audio production came out. (The kids found it pretty funny, too.) I had read the novel in 2015 when it was first published-a “memoir” narrated by a young girl’s imaginary friend, who doesn’t realize he is imaginary until he does, then unwittingly butts up against questions of identity and purpose-and found it wonderfully witty and clever. I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so hard cruising down the highway. If you like your kids’ audio books heavy on adult humor-with an existential crisis thrown in for good measure-download this gem pronto. Confessions of an Imaginary Friend: A Memoir by Jacques Papier, as told to Michelle Cuevas narrated by Michael Goldstrom (Ages 9-12) Like Harry Potter, Morrigan learns that what defines a person, what deems her worthy of love, is not her cursed past or her discovered ‘knack,’ but the choices she makes each day. Nevermoor is also powered by an elusive, unpredictable energy called Wunder-though whether Wunder will be Morrigan’s salvation or her downfall is up to her. At once glittery and darkly mysterious, Nevermoor is a place of mesmerists, giant talking cats, vampire dwarfs, smoke monsters, and the elite Wundrous Society, where Morrigan will have a place if she passes a series of daring trials. That is, until an unflappably optimistic redhead named Jupiter North appears and whisks Morrigan off to the secret, magical world of Nevermoor. Like the cursed children before her, as midnight on her eleventh birthday approaches, Morrigan prepares for her inevitable death. įor her entire life, Morrigan Crow has believed herself cursed and unlovable: her mere presence radiates bad luck and catastrophe to those unfortunate enough to cross her path, including her father and stepmother. You may know Whelan from Game of Thrones (Yara Greyjoy), but your kids are about to know her for the staggering range of perfectly-pitched voices she wields for Morrigan Crow and the rest of Nevermoor’s eclectic, unforgettable cast. That said, what I can vouch for is that British actress Gemma Whelan gives Jim Dale ( HP narrator) a serious run for his money. Rowling’s master class at world building. While plot parallels abound, I’m not sure the comparison entirely honors J.K. Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor series (the third releases next spring, and how shall we endure until then?) frequently gets compared to Harry Potter. I hate to lead with my best hand, but if you only have time for one audio series in your summer, promise me it’ll be this. ![]() Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow and Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend performed by Gemma Whelan (Ages 9-13) Even if you’re just driving to and from the pool every day, or taking refuge at home in the AC, these performances are guaranteed to thrill and excite everyone in the family. Is it just me, or has the audio industry really upped its game? If you’ve got a road trip planned this August, here’s hoping you find some inspiration below. And yet, where quantity was lacking, quality was not. Over the past two years, owing to revolving carpools and the best kids’ podcast ever, we have listened to significantly fewer audio books.
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