Feature

ARE WE THERE YET?:
Let Audio Change Your Travel With Young Children
by Aurelia Scott

Robin Krug knows more about dinosaurs than she ever intended to know, but that is what happens when you spend a lot of time traveling with a 5-year-old boy.

"I can list all the known dinosaurs," says Krug. She even knows dinosaur minutiae, such as the fact that apatosaurus used to be called brontosaurus. This is because her traveling companion, a.k.a. her son Hank, has been known to test her.

"We have listened to each of the Odds Bodkin audiobooks about Little Proto [a protosaurus] at least 100 times," says Krug with a laugh and a groan. "Before Hank was born, I listened to my own compilation tapes of new music. But I never hear my music anymore. In fact, I have no idea what’s being produced these days! Instead, I listen to THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PROTO, LITTLE PROTO’S T-REX ADVENTURE, LITTLE PROTO AND THE VOLCANO’S FIRE. Those three books got us to my sister Terry’s and back recently—six hours in the car—without a meltdown." She pauses. "Then again, my husband, Steve, went out of his mind. But I’m willing to pay a high price for peace in the car."

Peace in the car is a precious commodity, particularly on the prolonged drives traditional to summer vacations. Remember the squabbling, the static buzz of the radio between stations, the food fights, the whining? We remember them only too well, which is why we, at AUDIOFILE, are willing to risk hyperbole and say that audiobooks have single-handedly saved the family holiday. We are not alone in this opinion. As Robin Krug says, "Repetitious audiobook listening is melodious compared to hearing ‘Are we there yet?’ every 30 minutes."

Harley and Pat Manhart drove their visiting grandson James Jordan, then 10 years old, from New Mexico to Washington State two years ago—a trip that takes 15 hours of drive time. That’s a long enough distance to make even the happiest car-bound family testy. But Harley Manhart prepared by stocking up on audiobooks.

She and Pat had taken some Donna Leon Venetian mysteries with them several years previously during a driving trip between New Mexico and Oklahoma. "Made the miles fly by," says Pat, even if it was rather odd to be accompanying Commissario Brunetti in a water taxi on a Venetian lagoon while driving across Oklahoma’s famously flat plain. Now they don’t leave home without something to listen to.

Harley chose classic children’s literature for the New Mexico to Washington journey.

"We listened to TOM SAWYER, TREASURE ISLAND, and SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON." All three travelers were pleased. In fact, "Pat and I have decided that no matter how old you are, a good book, even a children’s book, is worth listening to."

Of course, there are differences of opinion about what makes a good book.

Leah Peacock, age 9, started on audiobooks at age 3 when she fell for Charles Kurault reading WINNIE_THE-POOH. Now she loves the Redwall fantasy series by Brian Jacques. But her younger brother Sam complains unremittingly when Redwall comes on. He prefers Marc Brown’s Arthur series and Richard Scarry’s storybooks. And if Mom, otherwise known as Paula Lewis, had her way, they’d all be listening to prize-winning narrator Martin Jarvis read whatever he wants to read. Dad, who, like Robin Krug, has temporarily abandoned his favorite music, prefers NPR. So, what’s a traveling family to do? Accommodate, sort of.

Leah now possesses her own Walkman and earphones. Sam (and his parents) listen to Arthur on the car stereo. When Sam naps, the adults listen to NPR. And Paula? Well, she is able to listen during the week on her way to work. And at the end of every home, work, or vacation day, "When I get into bed, I spend at least 10 minutes listening to what I want to hear." A little bit each day makes Martin Jarvis last a long time.

What will they do when Sam doesn’t nap in the car? Paula bursts out laughing. "Let’s just not go there yet," she says, and then adds that her NPR husband does like one of her own favorites, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so, "One day, we might all listen to the same book when we travel. That would be amazing!"

Our memories of audiobooks-once-heard can differ as much as our listening preferences. Harley Manhart remembers renting "a terrible western" for a drive between Oklahoma and New Mexico with grandson James. It was all she could find in the library’s inadequate collection, but no matter. "James reminded me recently what fun that book was, while I had eliminated it from my memory!"

"It was a cowboy diary," explains James Jordan. And whatever his grandmother says, listening to a cowboy diary as you are driving through cowboy territory is a close-to-perfect experience. When cowboys are not on offer, James likes fantasy, including THE GOLDEN COMPASS and the Harry Potter series, and suspense. "Anything that keeps you guessing. Cliffhangers are good, but they shouldn’t be too complicated, because you don’t pay attention as well in a car." And yet, he adds, it should be involving enough "that you don’t want to get out of the car at rest stops."

On a recent drive with his grandfather, he listened to THE SECRET OF ANNEXE 3, an Inspector Morse mystery intended for adults. As far as James is concerned, it’s fine for kids to listen to adult audiobooks, as long as the adults have screened them first.

"They should make sure that there isn’t anything inappropriate for kids to hear," he says.

Such as frightening scenes.

"I hadn’t thought to prescreen the last Little Proto book, so it was a real shock as we were driving along and all of a sudden Little Proto was about to be roasted alive," says Robin Krug. "Hank doesn’t like ‘scary parts,’ but as it turned out, I was more upset about Little Proto’s near-death adventure than Hank was." Crisis averted, although, with experience coloring her voice, she advises that comforting a frightened child, who is sitting in the car seat behind you, while driving safely in highway traffic is not possible. You have to pull off the road.

Then there are the R-rated scenes.

"You’ve got to look out for the sex. It appears where you least expect it," says Hilary Scott. He grew up listening to children’s storybook records, and so started his own children, Hannah, age 11, and Gabe, age 9, on audiobooks "as soon as they could listen." He tries to find books that are engaging and appropriate for them all, such as Wil Wheaton reading TOM SAWYER or Alex Jennings reading THE DARK IS RISING. It’s when he inserts an accessible adult book into the mix that he advises close attention.

"I’m quick on the ‘Stop’ button, but the kids also help protect themselves. We were listening to Michael Crichton’s THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY a while ago, when suddenly there was a risqué bit. Right away, Hannah said, ‘Daddy, skip this part. Gabe’s not old enough.’ " Leaving sex aside, Scott says that the "Stop" button is one of the many advantages of family audiobook listening. "We stop the narrative all the time to discuss what we’ve heard. My wife, Gretchen, and I can talk about ethical topics that a story raises without sounding heavy-handed, and the kids can share their thoughts without feeling put on the spot. In fact, all four of us really look forward to long drives because we get to listen to audiobooks."

Or, as James Jordan says, "A long trip with an audiobook is better than a short trip without one."


Always a fan of children’s literature, AudioFile Contributing Editor Aurelia C. Scott can still recite most of A.A. Milne’s NOW WE ARE SIX from memory.

AUG/SEPT04
©AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Photo © Ruth Gorton