The Best New Middle-Grade Audiobooks, Selected by AudioFile Magazine for The Children’s Book Review.
Best New Middle-Grade Audiobooks
Older kids and tweens have a lot of great listening to look forward to this month. We’re highlighting some of the best new middle-grade listens, including humorous but realistic adventures, a wacky fantasy, and a fantastic graphic memoir adaptation.
Stuntboy, In-Between Time
Story by Jason Reynolds
Read by Guy Lockard, Nile Bullock, Angel Pean, James Fouhey, and a Full Cast
Simon & Schuster Audio | 3 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Guy Lockard is the energetic and enthusiastic heart of this new Stuntboy adventure, narrated by a talented cast and enhanced by lively music and goofy sound effects. All action takes place in Portico’s building, where he lives with his parents and Gran Gran. At least, they used to live together—now Portico’s parents have split up. Nile Bullock gives another standout performance with his sensitive portrayal of Portico and all his sweet perceptions of the world and roiling worries. This audiobook is absolutely hilarious and, at the same time, is a heartfelt story about managing big changes in the family. Review »
Buy the Audiobook
The Dark Lord’s Daughter
Story by Patricia C. Wrede
Read by Nadia Verde and Brian Thomas Abraham
Listening Library | 10.25 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Nadia Verde and Brian Thomas Abraham team up to narrate this creative fantasy to great effect. Abraham begins each chapter with deviously petty instructions from “The Dark Traditions.” His lovely baritone and classic English accent amplify the hilarious absurdity. Verde aptly narrates the majority of the story. Kayla, an adopted 14-year-old, is visiting the state fair when she and her family are magicked away to Zaradwin. Assigned a new role, Kayla sets out to better her kingdom. Verde does a phenomenal job with all the voices, smoothly transitioning between characters of different ages, genders, and accents. Review »
Buy the Audiobook
The Probability of Everything
Story by Sarah Everett
Read by Jordan Cobb
Harper Audio | 7 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Jordan Cobb narrates the approaching-end-of-the world records of 11-year-old Kemi, a Nigerian American whose color puts her at odds in her white neighborhood. Cobb re-creates the warm tenderness of Kemi’s family, especially their playful interactions with an exploring toddler and their anticipation of a baby due in five months. Cobb voices Kemi’s strength with respect to the impending doom, emphasizing her wit and intelligence. Nearing the story’s end, reality shifts, and Kemi is revealed as an unreliable narrator. Cobb’s narration helps listeners bridge these shifts. Review »
Buy the Audiobook
The International House of Dereliction
Story by Jacqueline Davies
Read by Suzanne Toren
Harper Audio | 7 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Whether she’s expressing the quandaries of Alice, a unique 10-year-old; her quirky parents; or the troubled ghosts who live next door, Suzanne Toren is remarkable at animating the vivid characters in this story. Toren excels also at pacing, beginning breezily as Alice uses the skills she learned from her father to remake the house next door and builds relationships with four ghosts. Her pace and intensity mount as Alice takes on a frightening specter and demolition crews. The mystery, Alice’s resourcefulness and kindness, and a lively narration make this a great family listen. Review »
Buy the Audiobook
Best Friends
Story by Shannon Hale
Read by Shannon Hale, Mia Jenness, Carlotta Brentan, Rob Brinkmann, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Michael Crouch, Dean Hale, Dinah Hale, Wren Hale, Helen Laser, Marni Penning, and Mark Sanderlin
Macmillan Audio | 3.25 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Author Shannon Hale narrates as a full cast enacts the drama of her sixth-grade year in this adaptation of the middle volume of her graphic memoir trilogy. Portraying young Shannon, Mia Jenness evokes excitement, uncertainty, and hurt as Shannon picks her way through a friendship minefield. Her circle of friends is not so fully individuated, with the other cast members playing multiple roles; the effect reinforces Shannon’s sense of social isolation. A panoply of sound effects helps take listeners back to 1985, introducing them to such antique noises as a cassette tape clicking into place and a dot matrix printer at work. Review »
Buy the Audiobook
Looking for more audiobook recommendations? Visit AudioFile’s website to sign up for our newsletters, where we feature narrator and author interviews, audiobook reviews, and more.
This list of audiobooks was curated by AudioFile. AudioFile is an independent source of audiobook reviews and recommendations with a clear focus on the performance and listening experience. AudioFile Earphones Awards are given to exceptional audiobooks. To learn more, visit audiofilemagazine.com, Twitter @AudioFileMag, Facebook @audiofilemagazine, and Instagram @AudioFileBehindTheMicPodcast.
For more articles like Exciting Audiobooks for Tweens Featuring Humor, Action, and a Graphic Memoir, follow along with The Children’s Book Review’s content tagged with Audiobooks and AudioFile.
