The Best Audiobooks To Listen to as a Family This Summer
by Janssen Bradshaw
Hello summer! School is out and it’s road trip time. Or lying by the pool time.
Whatever your plans this summer, they’ll be better with a good audiobook. These are some of the best titles to keep you listening to new stories all day (and into the night too!).
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Young Readers
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Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
This audiobook contains 100 bedtime stories about women who excelled in different ways, including in music, science, politics, sports, art, and basically any other way you can dream up. They cover women from the past and include present-day women too. Best of all, each one is told like a fairy tale. My four little girls will be listening to these all summer long!
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The Terrible Two Go Wild
Summer calls for audiobooks that make you laugh and nobody does it better than Mac Barnett and Jory John with their Terrible Two series. My first grader listened to the first one multiple times and was thrilled when a second installment came out. Now the third one is perfect for summer as Miles and Niles arrive at Camp Good Times for the summer where it appears there are no prank-ortunities. But leave it to this duo to find a way to make trouble!
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Middle Grade
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Aniana Del Mar Jumps In
This powerful story is a great family listen, telling the transformative journey of Aniana, who discovers the healing powers of the ocean she loves after life throws a life-changing challenge her way. As she becomes aware of her chronic illness, she must fight for her right to express herself and pursue her love of swimming, even if that means going against her mother’s fears in this inspiring story read by the author.
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Bob
I love Rebecca Stead and I love Wendy Mass, so when they team up? You bet I’m right there! This magical tale is about Livy, who has returned to visit her grandmother in Australia after five years away. It seems like there’s something she might have forgotten from her previous trips ... and when she arrives, she discovers that it’s Bob, a small green creature in a chicken suit who needs Livy to help him return to his home.
Listen to a clip:
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Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans
If you have a mystery-lover in the house, this book is for you. Samantha Spinner’s beloved uncle Paul has disappeared, and Sam is certain he’s in mortal danger. Now she just has to solve all the puzzles and secret messages to figure out what might have happened to him. Stay tuned for more books in this new series!
Listen to a clip:
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Al Capone Throws Me a Curve
One of my favorite things about summer is the release of new books in series that I just adore, and the Tales from Alcatraz series is one of my favorites. Moose Flanagan is still living on Alcatraz in the 1930s with some of the most dangerous criminals in the U.S. Moose mostly is focused on winning a spot on the high school baseball team and also keeping an eye on his older sister with special needs. But the latter suddenly takes priority when his sister ends up someplace she should NEVER have been and it’s up to Moose to rescue her.
Listen to a clip:
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Young Adult
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Lucha of the Night Forest
This is a tale perfect for families who enjoy thrilling fantasy narratives with plenty of action. The story follows a courageous girl who is willing to go to any lengths to safeguard her family and their home. However, she is also on the cusp of discovering her own strength, independence, and magical powers.
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Love & War
“Hamilton” fever isn’t going anywhere and this sequel to the bestselling Alex & Eliza: A Love Story will only fuel it! The Revolutionary War is raging on and Alex leaves Eliza to join the Battle of Yorktown. But he’s not the only one fighting — Eliza discovers that the fight is going to come to her.
Listen to a clip:
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Furyborn
If you want a fantasy novel that will keep you glued to your headphones, this 17-hour epic is for you! It follows two fierce and independent young women who live centuries apart and both could save or destroy the world. The cosmic war that sweeps up each of them is unbelievably gripping.
Listen to a clip:
