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Music and sound effects can elevate an audiobook, but an authentic narrator is what makes for a stellar listening experience, librarians and industry experts say. 

Empathetic rapport, masterful pacing, pitch-perfect accents—it's all in a day's work for the top-notch talents behind audiobooks including "Horrible Harry," The Hate U Give, No Kimchi for Me!, All American Boys, and others.

Physical books that play narration can increase students' reading confidence. Parents also like the format as an alternative to digital devices.

This fantastic trio of audiobooks offers a picture book biography, a middle grade historical novel, and a propulsive YA sci-fi.

For July's Disability Pride Month and beyond, these 25 audiobooks featuring disabled characters are edifying and enlightening selections for elementary, middle grade, and YA listeners. 

Share student favorites with us as we report for an upcoming feature, "What Makes for a Great Audiobook?" 

Playaway products have long been a staple in libraries as an audio option for accessing materials. SLJ reviews its Wonderbook, a preloaded audiobook device.

For both May’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and beyond, consider lining shelves and adding to TBR piles with some of these edifying, entertaining 2024 audio choices.

Five women of Asian descent discuss the joy of telling resonant stories, handling vocabulary in unfamiliar languages, and other topics. 

The State of K-12 Digital Reading breaks down the data for the 2022-23 school year, showing the popularity of comics and graphic novels in the digital format plus regional differences in reading habits.

Start Black History Month with these edifying, entertaining audiobooks by Black writers about Black experiences starring Black characters—and keep listening throughout the year. 

Ring in 2024 with these skillful compositions and top-notch vocal and instrumental performances, perfect for story hours, classrooms, or family time, including an album of songs based on banned books. 

Children are eager listeners—of audiobooks, according to a new Library Journal / School Library Journal survey. Libraries are keeping up with the demand as formats evolve.

Audio adaptation of visually reliant, multilayered storytelling is not quite like transforming any other genre for the ears. These 19 audio titles adapted from graphic novels rise to the challenge.

In this guest post, author Shannon Hale discusses adapting her graphic novel Best Friends as an audiobook, with a behind-the-scenes look at how she wrote the script and took part in the narration.

These 11 family music albums full of STEM and SEL topics will have kids moving to the beat and learning some important lessons while doing so.

For readers who enjoy or want to explore reading novels in different formats, here are 15 titles about AAPI characters or by AAPI creators to recommend for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Titles in verse are an especially ­welcoming genre, blending poetry and storytelling to create immersive experiences for any type of narrative, including fiction, history, memoir, and more. The audiobook format presents these works the way poetry is meant to be enjoyed—out loud.

These selections celebrate dinosaurs, silliness, social justice, and more. Perfect for library programming, dancing, and exercise, these albums guarantee a rollicking good time. 

Applications open for ALA's annual "Game On" gaming grant program; LibraryPass announces more than one million checkouts in Comics Plus in 2022; 2023 Audie Awards finalists; and Lee & Low's New Voices Award winners in News Bites.

These recent audiobooks offer irrefutable proof and auspicious validation that our youth are our most promising changemakers today, tomorrow, and beyond.

These podcasts and librarian interviews give listeners something to think about to start the new year.

From debut artists to returning favorites, these 11 family music albums cover a wide range of musical styles and topics.

From the 200-plus audiobooks with November 2021 to October 2022 publication dates considered, two picture books, a family history in verse, remade fairy tales, an intertwined podcast, and a haven’t-ever-heard-that-before double recording are among this year’s outstanding listens.

Multiracial Americans are the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, and publishing is thankfully reflecting more multiracial representation: here are 20 audiobooks, all published in 2022, culled from a list more than double the size. Listen in.

Listen to these fun and (a little) frightful podcasts with kids of all ages.

From "Let's Move" to "Moonwalking," seven out of these 11 family music albums have received starred reviews.

Rewrites and adaptations that subvert the familiar have long been popular—who can argue with universal appeal? These 22 titles have all been inspired by fairy tales and mythology.

Lighthearted poetry, wordplay, and grammar tips make for entertaining listening and learning in the heat of summer.

From Eric Herman and the Puppy Dogs's Magic Beans to Steve Elci and Friends's Nutmegger, here are ten children's music CD titles to have on your radar.

These nonfiction audio adaptations of recent Young Readers Editions cover a range of ages, and most feature difficult subjects including history, climate change, and systemic racism.

Summer is a great time for kids to listen to podcasts, and libraries can direct them to ones they will enjoy.

These nine popular kidcasts produced books that can stand on their own or make great companion material while listening.

COVID may have taken a lot away, but it also gave family music a new, louder voice that will continue to evolve and grow. Here are 10 not-to-miss family music albums from 2020 and 2021.

Get ready for Women's History Month with this playlist spotlighting trailblazers including Shirley Chisholm, Frida Kahlo, Ángela Peralta, and others. For ages five and up.

Children’s music artists turn to new technologies to reach eager audiences during the pandemic.

The top 10 audiobooks represent the best of November 2020 to October 2021 releases, with selections for all age groups and interests. Realistic fiction, speculative fiction, poetry, and more are represented, and exceptional narration enhances the fascinating stories.

From health-centered shows to series with fully formed fictional worlds, these podcasts for kids reveal promising directions in original audio content.

As Halloween creeps up, these five audio dramas deliver chills and thrills. 
 

These podcasts for elementary through high school students address emotions, kindness, mindfulness, choices, bullying, homework, and being the new kid at school.

As the sisters prepare to record their milestone episode, Betsy Bird and Kate Ramsey discuss the origins of the podcast, some favorite episodes, and plans for the future.

These podcasts keep kids guessing and give families fodder for debate.

Summer is the perfect time for series and serial podcasts across genres to keep kids entertained and engaged.

Twenty-one releases to share during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month or any time of year.

These curated playlists for elementary, middle, and high school students feature dozens of podcasts that embrace the 2021 Collaborative Summer Library theme, Tails and Tales.

Educators are using audiobooks in new ways to teach material and help students build literacy skills. Plus: 15 classroom-ready podcasts.

Featuring poets from Amanda Gorman to Kenn Nesbitt and offering inspiring writing prompts, these shows have something for every student.

With gorgeous words with affecting narratives, these middle grade and YA #OwnVoices titles provide excellent listening for National Poetry Month and beyond.

Spotlighting individuals including Amanda Gorman, Rosa Parks, and entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, these podcasts have riveting stories to tell.

10 shows for kids ages 8 to 14 cover current events and teach news literacy.  

Start 2021 by sharing conversations about music, from orchestral movie scores to “kindie” releases, with students and families.

The CDC recommends teachers and support staff get the coronavirus vaccine in the next round of distribution; the Black Caucus of ALA has put out its Best of the Best 2020 booklist; applications are being accepted for the Library of Congress Librarian in Residence program; and more in this edition of News Bites.

The top 10 audiobooks represent the best of November 2019 to October 2020 releases, with selections for all age groups and interests.

One in four kids tuned in to a podcast in 2020, drawn to stories and discussions about the coronavirus, money, activism, racial justice, and other topics.

These podcasts impart skills for dealing with big feelings, like isolation, loss, and anxiety through a variety of techniques, some directly related to SEL curricula. Parents can benefit, too.

With humor, song, and fact-filled history, these audio productions help kids understand the workings of democracy. 

Audiobooks from Samatha Mabry, Suzanne Collins, E. Lockhart, Dean Atta, and more are sure to entice middle and high school listeners.

Chills and thrills for young listeners.

Read-alouds are usually the domain of picture books, but teens also enjoy being read to, and audiobooks are popular among all ages. Here are some read-aloud videos of YA titles—classic, new, and upcoming books—from publishers, authors, and librarians.

Tune into talk about mind-bending concepts and fascinating figures, from googolplex and the Fibonacci Sequence to the mathematicians behind the first programming language.

Longtime favorite authors dominated the lists of checkouts in the first half of June, according to Follett's Students' Choice data.

These reviews from the July issue feature audio performances of books by Nic Stone, Melissa Albert, Nikki Grimes, and Walter Dean Myers, among others.

This playlist includes episodes with imaginative stories, scientific facts, ongoing discoveries, and lessons about the interplay between entertainment and science.

Experimenting with fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, or other genres, kids can write a new world that leaves COVID-19 behind—or address the pandemic head-on and go deep into emotions and experiences.

Unlock kids' creativity with episodes about origami, bookmaking, beavers, and more inspirations.

In these podcasts for families and children, Black hosts and voice actors spotlight fairy tales, historical figures, activism, and Black Lives Matter.

A brief history of doughnuts, tips for burgeoning bread bakers, and more inspirations to get kids cooking.

This playlist offers windows into key documents, people, and cultural factors that shaped U.S. history.

Pets are important companions during the pandemic. Tune into these pet- and animal-focused podcasts for some extra comfort and some fun, too.

Children lead the conversations in many of these informative, family-friendly episodes about the novel coronavirus. The first of a 10-part series of curated podcast playlists on different topics.

The audiobook giant creates new site for free streaming, available in six languages.

More people are listening to audiobooks, according to the Pew Research Center, and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, say the brain might not know the difference.

Audio offers great potential as a connected learning tool. Here's what you need to get started. 

These 30 audiobooks will appeal to listeners from preschool through high school.

Podcasts offer students a chance to own the conversation—and sometimes spark discussions about subjects adults won’t address. Plus, educators' tech tips and best practices.

New research offers compelling evidence that suggests we should make more use of podcasts, while a podcast search engine makes it easy. Here are three curated lists that dovetail with this year's summer reading theme. 

These audiobooks will keep everyone entertained on those spring break and summer road trips.

Young leads and timely topics give these adult audiobooks teen appeal