Imagine finding out on your birthday that you’ve been enrolled into a school of witchcraft and wizardry – the mysterious Hogwarts. That’s what happens to 11-year-old Harry Potter, who lives with his cruel aunt and uncle in suburban Britain. He takes his chance and escapes to the school, meeting lifelong friends, mortal enemies and a whole host of unbelievable and powerful characters. This was the story that started it all and when the celebrated actor and comedian Stephen Fry is narrating it, you just know you’re in for a treat.
The first part of J.K. Rowling’s hit Harry Potter series is one of the best-selling titles of all time. Be prepared for any child to be very quiet for a very long time as they work their way through the wizarding world of Harry Potter and his magical abilities, and the non-magical people known as ‘Muggles’. This spellbinding listen introduces listeners to the world of young Harry Potter, who comes from humble beginnings, joins the elite of the magical world and battles to prove himself as the wizard he is destined to be. Listeners can relate to Harry’s real-life struggles in this coming-of-age series, as he navigates friendships, growing up, and getting through school - with some spells, potions and threatening villains thrown in for good measure.
The entire output of the award-winning children’s writer Julia Donaldson deserves a place on any compendium of classic stories for kids. But perhaps her most loved work – and certainly her most famous – The Gruffalo invites us to join the protagonist, a lone little mouse, who just wants a peaceful walk through the woods but is constantly being threatened by the local beasts. Each of the cunning beasts tries their luck at tricking their victim by inviting the mouse to their home for ‘dinner’. However, our mouse is smarter than they are and makes up an even fiercer creature to scare off these threatening beasts and get away unharmed - the Gruffalo! But what would happen if the big and scary monster that the crafty little mouse imagined would suddenly appear in the light of day? Julia Donaldson’s best-selling picture book is updated as an enthralling audio performance by the Olivier Award-winning actress Imelda Staunton, who relishes narrating this story and, with music and sound effects galore, it’s an absolute joy. This essential children’s story that won the Smarties Prize award, is aimed at the younger child and is almost guaranteed to spark a lifelong love of storytelling.
As far as children’s fiction is concerned, the iconic British writer Roald Dahlcan do no wrong. His stories and characters transcend their settings, so grown-ups who haven’t read the stories since childhood still hold vivid recollections of them. So when we meet an exceptionally bright girl with magical powers, mean, vain and stupid parents, an irritating sibling and an awful headteacher, there’s no doubt we’re in Roald Dahl country with Matilda. The girl in question has to use her wit and wisdom – and her powers of telekinesis – to make her childhood years more bearable and exciting, and so starts a delightful adventure that kids have loved for generations. Narrated with vim by the Academy Award winner Kate Winslet from Titanic (1997) and Finding Neverland (2004), this heart-warming story is wonderfully brought to life and you’ll be rooting for Matilda from start to finish. Many listeners will be familiar with the bright and brilliant Matilda from the 1996 film starring Mara Wilson and Danny Devito. This heart-warming story takes listeners on a magical journey as an extraordinary young girl uses her superpowers and intelligence to overcome the rotten adults that cast a grey shadow over her world.
After writing and acting in the hit television sketch show Little Britain (which was definitely not for children), comedian and actor David Walliams’ leap into children’s fiction came as quite a surprise. Yet it really shouldn’t have, as the same mischievous humour that made Little Britain so funny translates directly to kids once you strip out the adult-oriented bits. Now he’s a much-loved children’s writer, with best sellers and film and TV adaptations to his name. In The Beast of Buckingham Palace, the year is 2120 and London lies ruined. Buckingham Palace still stands and the British monarchy muddles along, never venturing out of the palace. But lurking behind the walls is an all-powerful beast and when the Queen is taken away to be executed, young, timid Prince Alfie has to find the courage to take it on and defend his family. This is perhaps a little darker than some of Walliams’ other children's story titles, but most kids just hear an adventure story with great character development. This full-cast audio performance by the hilarious Walliams, Joanna Lumley, Fiona Shaw, Andy Serkis and other star performers, The Beast of Buckingham Palace is guaranteed to draw you in.
Of course, we couldn’t whittle a list of children’s audiobooks down to ten and only have one Roald Dahl title in there. Limiting it to two is hard enough, but sitting alongside the indomitable Matilda, we have to choose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; a surreal, fantastical cautionary tale that will still be delighting kids in centuries to come. Imagine living under the same roof as your poor, bed-ridden grandparents, then one day finding a magical golden ticket in a chocolate bar – a ticket that grants you a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious and magical chocolate factory, where you can lick candy walls and chew everlasting gum. That’s what happened to Charlie Bucket and we join him, his grandpa and a cast of four highly unlikeable winners whose bad traits always seem to be their gruesome downfall. Roald Dahl's breathtaking storytelling takes listeners on a magical journey through Willy Wonka's larger-than-life world of pure imagination, as young Charlie's life is changed forever. Narrated by Douglas Hodge (Mansfield Park, Outnumbered, The Night Manager), who has already taken Willy Wonka to the West End stage, Dahl’s wit and pace is delivered beautifully. Listeners can even learn a lesson or two about life from this awe-inspiring listen.
Children always warm to tales of friendship, and when you throw in mythical creatures, amazing adventures and bucketloads of humour, you’re on to a winner. That’s why Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon was always going to feature in our top selection of audiobooks. The first title in Cressida Cowell’s twelve-part children’s fiction series introduces listeners to the world of Viking-child Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Hiccup is ready to follow the traditional rite of passage of slaying a dragon so he doesn’t get exiled from his native Berk Island. He successfully captures a dragon but, when it comes to the slaying bit, he realises he really doesn’t want to. He patches up, befriends and trains the tiny toothless dragon, fittingly named Toothless, forming the start of many incredible adventures and an unbreakable bond. Doctor Who’s David Tennant, who also stars in the film adaptations of How To Train Your Dragon, is excellent as the narrator, no doubt drawing on his deep love of a series he’s voiced for the cinema. This powerful tale of friendship and bravery awards listeners with a captivating ending that will make any audience fall in love with How To Train Your Dragon.
Rudyard Kipling is one of those writers whose output is constantly being reassessed. In particular, the passage of time has made some of the characterisation and opinions very much out of kilter with today’s mindsets. But a great story is a great story, and there’s no way these stories that have delighted children for more than a hundred years could be left off the list. Available exclusively on Audible, this full-cast narration of The Jungle Book features performances from acting luminaries like Richard E. Grant, Bernard Cribbins, Celia Imrie and Martin Shaw, so you know that children are going to be hearing this story with all the humour and joy they deserve. Listeners are invited to join young Mowgli, a child lost in the Indian jungle and befriended and nurtured by the animals, as he embarks on many wonderful adventures. Follow Mowgli as he learns to navigate the world around him without parental guidance, but instead with some of the jungle’s most incredible creatures on hand to show him how to survive and thrive in the wild. This all-star performance of The Jungle Book has been awarded with Amazon Audie Awards for the Best Audio Drama and Excellence in Production.
It’s not easy being a kid. Especially a wimpy kid in a world of athletic and popular schoolmates. But that’s Greg Heffley’s lot in life and he’s more or less forced to write this diary (which he calls a journal) – and thank goodness he is. Actor and narrator Dan Russell, who’s best known for voicing cartoon characters with enormous wit, handles Wimpy Kid wonderfully – it’s like listening to the child’s mind just as adolescence is kicking in. This is one of those coming-of-age stories that captures the imagination of a generation of shrinking violet children, just as The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ did 25 years ago. And just like Sue Townsend’s masterpiece, it took on a life of its own, with sequels and adaptations galore. If you like to hear your kids chuckling, this is the one to get. Young listeners can relate to the whims and woes of Greg Heffley as he enters the scary world that is middle school. Greg, who would rather stay at home playing video games, and his best friend Rowley, set off on a mission to boost their popularity. But will the boys let a mean older brother, annoying classmates and demanding family members sabotage their chances of becoming social butterflies this school year?
Like Kipling, the celebrated kids’ story writer Enid Blyton is under constant review by children’s literature critics. But her monumental contribution to the genre cannot be ignored and the squillions of modern adults for whom Blyton was their first taste of pre-teen literature are a testament to the wonderful storytelling on display. So, with one or two modifications, the stories live on to delight more generations. In The Enchanted Wood, three young children, Beth, Frannie and Joe, move into a new home near a large and mysterious woodland. Naturally, for the three curious children, it’s only a matter of time before they set off to explore the sprawling woodland that is on their doorstep. You might guess by the title that it’s enchanted but its centrepiece is the Faraway Tree, which is so enormous that it reaches the clouds and is home to countless weird and wonderful creatures: Silky the fairy, Saucepan man and Moonface. It’s also the gateway to the enticing and ever-changing magical lands – but it’s important that you don’t get trapped in them. Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet from Titanic (1997) and Finding Neverland (2004) is spot on for her excellent performance of The Enchanted Wood and an inspired choice for this epic children’s story title.
Louis Sachar has released a title roughly every two years since the first, the surreal Sideways Stories from Wayside School, became a hit in 1978. He’s always had a Dahl-esque eye for the ridiculous and the adults in his stories are often the butt of the jokes – or just plain grotesque. But this winner of the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal, Holes, took him into another dimension. In the story, Stanley Yelnats is unlucky from the start, but when he’s wrongly accused of stealing and is sent to a correction facility in the desert, it’s a blow even for him. In this awe-inspiring audiobook, all inmates have to dig a hole 5 foot wide, broad and deep, supposedly for character building, but it soon becomes clear that there’s much more to it than that. This award-winning listen covers grown-up themes that are delivered in a child-friendly manner and the actor and narrator Kerry Beyer’s narration perfectly encapsulates the bleak mysteries of Stanley’s new life. Holes explores themes of justice, friendship, fate and luck as Stanley muddles along and tries to uncover the truth and realise the purpose of the labour-intensive dig he is being forced to take part in.
Discover more kids audiobooks here.
Listen and learn with National Literacy Trust audiobook picks.
