AGES 8 TO 12
- Goosebumps Horrorland #1: Revenge of the Living Dummy
- by R. L. Stine
read by Alissa Hunnicutt (Scholastic Audio)
The Story
First, two 12-year-old girls are terrorized by a cursed doll. Then, once the evil thing is disposed of, we move on to the new Horrorland sequel, in which the same girls get more than they bargained for at a spooky amusement park.
The Narration
Hunnicutt's classic campfire-ghost-story intonation hits the perfect note. Kids will tremble in that it's-fun-to-be-scared way.
Read Along or Listen Alone?
Creepy horror-film violins and creaky haunted-house sounds are used to full effect.
- The City of Ember
- by Jeanne DuPrau
read by Wendy Dillon (Listening Library, $30)
The Story
In this dark, futuristic tale, two children learn that a different world—one with plants, trees, and natural light—may exist beyond the confines of their own sealed-up, subterranean city. And somebody wants to keep them from spreading that knowledge. This intelligent, suspenseful adventure is the first in a series.
The Narration
Dillon does a fine job of building the tension as the mystery progresses. She also works wonders with her voice to create very distinct characters, including somehow making Doone—the male half of our pair of protagonists—really sound like a boy.
Read Along or Listen Alone?
Some futuristic-sounding synth music to help set the scene.
- Island, Book 1: Shipwreck
- by Gordon Korman
read by Holter Graham (Scholastic Audio)
The Story
Six kids with disciplinary problems who have been sent on a "rehabilitation cruise" find themselves alone on a slowly sinking boat after a storm at sea. Can the troubled youths work together to reach dry land and survive? (Since this is the first part of a trilogy, you can probably guess the answer.)
The Narration
Graham himself sounds like the kind of heroic guy you'd want leading you through a crisis, but he tells the story with enough urgency to keep the suspense ratcheted way up.
Read Along or Listen Alone?
The kind of thrilling symphonic swells you'd expect from an action epic, as well as thunder-cracking sound effects.
- James and the Giant Peach
- by Roald Dahl
read by Jeremy Irons (Harper Children's Audio, $15, CD)
The Story
It's the deliciously surreal tale of an orphan who escapes the abuses of his wicked aunts by crawling into an enormous piece of fruit and befriending the oversize insects he meets among its pulp.
The Narration
The ultraclassy Irons has the remarkable ability to blend urbanity with inanity. The Oscar-winner has a blast with the narration, fully embracing the absurdity of the story and delivering one heck of a brilliant storytelling performance.
Read Along or Listen Alone?
Playful old-time cartoon music acts as a segue between scenes.
- Little House on the Prairie
- by Laura Ingalls Wilder
read by Cherry Jones (Harper Children's Audio)
The Story
The author's mostly autobiographical tale of her pioneer family's trek from the Wisconsin wilderness to the Kansas plains is the epitome of classic.
The Narration
Jones has a very maternal way about her narration, both authoritative and comforting. It gives off a very authentic bedtime-reading feel.
Read Along or Listen Alone?
When Pa plays his fiddle, you get to hear it.
