AudioFile editors compile the year's 80 best audiobooks for children and teens, recognized on notable lists by librarians and teachers from the children's and young adult divisions of the American Library Association and Capitol Choices. Also, Grammy winners, Audie Award Finalists, and our own Earphones Awards winners. Titles are grouped in the following categories:

• The American Experience
• Family Matters
• Fantastic Worlds
• Friends & Enemies
• Many Cultures
• Modern Classics
• Mysterious Adventures
• Other Times
• Personal Challenges
• Tall Tales & Rhymes

The American Experience

• ACROSS FIVE APRILS

  Irene Hunt, read by Terry Brégy, Audio Bookshelf,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE BLUES OF FLATS BROWN

  Walter Dean Myers, read by Walter Dean Myers, Live Oak Media,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• FIREHOUSE

  David Halberstam, read by Mel Foster, Brilliance Audio,
  Young Adult
  
  

• JOHN COLTRANE'S GIANT STEPS

  Chris Raschka, read by Richard Allen, Live Oak Media,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

  Marshall Frady, read by Marshall Frady, Books on Tape,
  Young Adult
  
  

• SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?

  Judith St. George, read by Stockard Channing, Weston Woods,
  Ages 6+
  
  

• WHY DON'T YOU GET A HORSE, SAM ADAMS?

  Jean Fritz, read by David de Vries, Weston Woods,
  Ages 4-6
  
  
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Family Matters

• EVERYTHING ON A WAFFLE

  Polly Horvath, read by Kathleen McInerney, Listening Library,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT?

  Jane Yolen, read by Jane Yolen, Weston Woods,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• IN DADDY'S ARMS I AM TALL

  Various Authors, read by Javaka Steptoe, Robin Miles, et al.,
  Live Oak Media, Ages 4-6
  
  

• THE JOURNEY

  Sarah Stewart, read by Daisy Egan, Live Oak Media,
  Ages 6+
  
  

• JUST WILLIAM

  Richmal Crompton, read by Martin Jarvis, BBC Audiobooks America/ Cover to Cover, Family Listening
  
  

• LOVE, RUBY LAVENDER

  Deborah Wiles, read by Judith Ivey, Listening Library,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• THE MOFFATS

  Eleanor Estes, performed by a Full Cast, Full Cast Audio, Family Listening
  
  

• PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS

  Patricia Reilly Giff, read by Hope Davis, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• RUBY HOLLER

  Sharon Creech, read by Donna Murphy, Harper Audio,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• SAFFY'S ANGEL

  Hilary McKay, read by Julia Sawalha, Listening Library, Ages 8+
  
  

• SEEK

  Paul Fleischman, read by a Full Cast, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• SHEILA RAE, THE BRAVE

  Kevin Henkes, read by Laura Hamilton, Live Oak Media,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• THE SUMMER OF RILEY

  Eve Bunting, read by Ramon de Ocampo, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE: BOOKS 1-4

  Tomie de Paola, read by Tomie de Paola, Listening Library,
  Ages 6+
  
  

• THE TWITS

  Roald Dahl, read by Simon Callow, Harper Audio,
  Ages 6+
  
  
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Fantastic Worlds

• CORALINE

  Neil Gaiman, read by Neil Gaiman, Harper Audio,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

  C.S. Lewis, read by a Full Cast, Focus on the Family/ Tyndale House, Family Listening
  
  

• LIRAEL

  Garth Nix, read by Tim Curry, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW

  C.S. Lewis, read by Kenneth Branagh, Harper Audio,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• SABRIEL

  Garth Nix, read by Tim Curry, Listening Library, Young Adult
  
  

• SILVER ON THE TREE

  Susan Cooper, read by Alex Jennings, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• SONG OF THE WANDERER

  Bruce Coville, performed by a Full Cast, Full Cast Audio,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• THE SPY WORE SHADES

  Martha Freeman, read by Carine Montbertrand, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• SUMMERLAND

  Michael Chabon, read by Michael Chabon, HighBridge Audio,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• THE WITCH IN THE LAKE

  Anna Fienberg, read by Melissa Eccleston, Louis Braille Audio,
  Young Adult
  
  
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Friends & Enemies

• ALL-AMERICAN GIRL

  Meg Cabot, read by Ariadne Meyers, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE AUSTERE ACADEMY

  Lemony Snicket, read by Lemony Snicket, Harper Audio,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• THE BEETLE AND ME

  Karen Romana Young, read by Julie Dretzin, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE BFG

  Roald Dahl, read by Natasha Richardson, Harper Audio,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• BIG MOUTH AND UGLY GIRL

  Joyce Carol Oates, read by Hilary Swank, Chad Lowe, Harper Audio,
  Young Adult
  
  

• BOY

  Roald Dahl, read by Derek Jacobi, Harper Audio,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• GOOD NIGHT, GORILLA

  Peggy Rathman, read by Anthony Edwards, Weston Woods,
  ages 4-6
  
  

• FRANCIE

  Karen English, read by Sisi Aisha Johnson, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• MANIAC MAGEE

  Jerry Spinelli, read by S. Epatha Merkerson, Listening Library,
  Ages 8+
  
  

• SON OF THE MOB

  Gordon Korman, read by Max Casella, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• WHALE TALK

  Chris Crutcher, read by Brian Corrigan, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• MORE TALES OF UNCLE REMUS

  Julius Lester, read by Julius Lester, Recorded Books,
  Ages 8+
  
  
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Many Cultures

• JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA

  Eva Ibbotson, read by Patricia Conolly, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• A SINGLE SHARD

  Linda Sue Park, read by Graeme Malcolm, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• A STEP FROM HEAVEN

  An Na, read by Jina Oh, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• WOLF ON THE FOLD

  Judith Clarke, read by Dino Marnika, Bolinda Audio,
  Young Adult
  
  

• ZAZOO

  Richard Mosher, read by Joanna Wyatt, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  

Modern Classics

• CHARLOTTE'S WEB

  E.B. White, read by E.B. White, Listening Library, Family Listening
  
  

• A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST

  Gene Stratton-Porter, read by Christina Moore, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE SECRET GARDEN

  Frances Hodgson Burnett, performed by a Full Cast, Focus on the Family/ Tyndale House, Family Listening
  
  

• A SEPARATE PEACE

  John Knowles, read by Scott Snively, Audio Bookshelf,
  Young Adult
  

Mysterious Adventures

• DEVIL'S ISLAND

  David Harris, read by Peter Hardy, Bolinda Audio,
  |Ages 10+
  
  

• HOOT

  Carl Hiaasen, read by Chad Lowe, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• THE SECRET ARMIES

  Albert Marrin, read by Johnny Heller, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• THE THIEF LORD

  Cornelia Funke, read by Simon Jones, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• TIME STOPS FOR NO MOUSE

  Michael Hoeye, read by Campbell Scott, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• THE TOWER TREASURE

  Franklin W. Dixon, read by Bill Irwin, Listening Library,
  Ages 8+
  
  
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Other Times

• THE EDGE ON THE SWORD

  Rebecca Tingle, read by Emily Gray, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• THE GRAVE

  James Heneghan, read by Gerard Doyle, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• ROWAN HOOD

  Nancy Springer, read by Emily Gray, Recorded Books,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• SAVING SWEETNESS

  Diane Stanley, read by Tom Bodett, Live Oak Media,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• THE SEEING STONE

  Kevin Crossley-Holland, read by Michael Maloney, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• SPITE FENCES

  Trudy Krisher, read by Kare Forbes, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• TROY

  Adèle Geras, read by Miriam Margolyes, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  
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Personal Challenges

• BREATHING UNDERWATER

  Alex Flinn, read by Jon Cryer, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• CATALYST

  Laurie Halse Anderson, read by Samantha Mathis, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• CLIC, CLAC, MUU--VACAS ESCRITORAS

  Doreen Cronin, Read by Jorge Pupo, Weston Woods,
  Ages 4-6
  
  

• FEATHER BOY

  Nicky Singer, read by Philip Franks, Listening Library,
  Ages 10+
  
  

• FORGED BY FIRE

  Sharon M. Draper, read by Thomas Penny, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  

• MAKE LEMONADE

  Virginia Euwer Wolff, read by Heather Alicia Simms, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• MARTIN'S BIG WORDS

  Doreen Rappaport, read by Michael Clark Duncan, Weston Woods,
  Ages 6+
  
  

• THE RAG AND BONE SHOP

  Robert Cormier, read by Scott Shina, Recorded Books,
  Young Adult
  
  
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  TRUE BELIEVER

  Virginia Euwer Wolff, read by Heather Alicia Simms, Listening Library,
  Young Adult
  
  

• A WEEK IN THE WOODS

  Andrew Clements, read by Ron Livingston, Listening Library,
  Ages 8+
  

Tall Tales & Rhymes