Audiobooks: The Greatest Asset in the Library

Audiobooks offer a tremendous potential to young and old. As adults who spend a considerable amount of time in our cars, audiobooks keep us company and entertain us. For children, an audiobook can add to the bedtime ritual of storytime. As 21st century learners, students have become visual and audio learners. Moreover, students with special needs, oftentimes, find basic reading and comprehension skills challenging.

ADVANTAGES OF AUDIQBOOKS

Recorded stories offer many useful attributes to students. The majority of audiobooks utilize professional voice actors. Novels "read by the author” may not always be as good. Voice actors use different voices for the various characters which hook the listener. Julius Root, one of the characters from the Artemis Fowl series, as read by Nathaniel Parker, has a raspy voice and speaks in short, choppy sentences, representative of the tough and fearless leader he is. All Artemis Fowl titles are narrated by Nathaniel Parker, which allows the reader to jump into the story, hearing the voices of old friends.

A consistent voice, the rhythm of a sentence, and vocal emphasis demonstrating proper punctuation, are important elements of reading. Audiobooks allow the listener to benefit from these elements, particularly if they read along. The added bonus of listening to the story and following it with the book allows students to make connections with spelling, vocabulary, and grammar by seeing the text. The greatest attribute of audiobooks is for students to have the ability to get through a book with success and understanding.

ANYTIME. ANYWHERE

Whether the students are hooked by the voices or intrigued by the ease with which they can get through a book, they are gaining knowledge, expanding their vocabulary, and improving their comprehension skills. Isn’t that literacy?

As media specialists we have a duty to read YA books throughout the year to keep up with our young readers. With limited time, many have taken advantage of their commutes. With audiobooks in the car CD player (or iPod sync), two to three books can be "read” per month. That’s twenty to thirty books per school year! For those who have time and an iPod or iPad, audiobooks can be downloaded; running or working out at the gym, or even sitting by the pool or at the beach, can offer an opportunity to listen to a book.

Throughout recent history, audiobooks have changed forms. Cassettes were the norm for much of the 80s; then came CDs in the 90s. The quality was far superior—no melting tape in the car! Today, Playaways and e-readers are the new format. Slip the Playaway in your pocket and listen. Play and go, it’s that easy.

JUST ONE MORE MINUTE TO LISTEN!

Don’t forget, these are YA books. The characters are full of action, adventure, mystery, and fantasy. These are not boring books. Such titles as Artemis Fowl books, by Eoin Colfer, found me waiting in the school parking lot to find out what happened next. Nathaniel Parker read the book as if he was Holly Short and Julius Root. The final disk of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, found me running into the media center to grab the second book. Catching Fire: A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray, had me waking up early on a Saturday morning offering to buy everyone bagels.


For more information on this topic, read Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy by Sharon Grover and Lizette D. Hannegan (ALA Editions, 2011).