Practically every morning, Michael, age 10, wakes and plays one of his favorite kids’ audiobooks.
His love of audiobooks led us to produce our own Bash and Lucy audiobooks, recorded with the voices of Michael and friends. We recorded our first audiobook when Michael and friends were 6 years old. You can listen for free here.
But that’s not the only kids’ audiobook playing in our household. Here is a list of our very favorites:
A to Z Mysteries
The first series we listened to was A to Z Mysteries, narrated by David Pittu. We loved listening to how Pittu created the voices of the different characters. We knew Ruth Rose, Josh and Dink so well, having read Ron Roy’s mysteries over and over.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
This series is even better in kids’ audiobook format than as a book, we soon discovered. We played “The Long Haul” over and over again, laughing at voice-over artist Ramon De Ocampo’s hilarious reading of the pig getting loose in the van during the family’s trip. This was our favorite audiobook for months and we played it dozens of times.
Timmy Failure
The Timmy Failure series is also even better in kids’ audiobook format, with brilliant voice-overs by Jared Goldsmith that also made us laugh out loud. Goldsmith does a great job of bringing Timmy, Rollo, Molly and Timmy’s mom to life. The series also helps educate kids about what it’s like to gain a stepparent–the good and the bad.
Wings of Fire
One of Michael’s favorite series of all time is Wings of Fire, which he says is “great, awesome, creative, funny and great.” He plays the audiobooks over and over and over, saying the voice-over artist, Shannon McManus, really understands the complex characters.
FunJungle and Moon Base Alpha
Most recently, Michael has been listening to Stuart Gibbs’ books on audiobook, featuring voice-over artist Gibson Frazier. “They’re funny, creative, hilarious and futuristic,” says Michael. And they include funny appendices that teach kids about topics like the Heimlich maneuver. Lisa adds, “All of Gibbs’ kids’ books are incredibly well-written, humorous and filled with educational details.”
As for our own “Bash and Lucy” audiobooks, we recorded all three with the voices of Michael, his friends and his family members. In fact, our third kids’ audiobook, “Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts,” was recorded with the voices of Michael, Lisa, five kids, one big sister, Michael’s Ukrainian grandma– plus our dog, Hudson. You can listen to that one for free here.
Nothing makes us happier than hearing how much kids like to listen to our audiobooks, especially kids who struggle with reading. Feel free to share the links to the free versions of our audiobooks. You can also find them on Audible here.
Be sure to email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com and tell us about your favorite children’s audiobooks!