Illustration by E. B. Lewis from Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side.
Courtesy of Weston Woods.

Another school year is on the horizon and our focus this month highlights the relationships that children and teens make—with other kids and with adults—to help them navigate the stormy waters of growing up. Teachers and librarians have always been savvy about connecting kids to stories that engage with what is going on in their lives. Current research from the Search Institute of Minneapolis, Minnesota, an organization that addresses critical issues in education and youth development to discover what kids need to succeed, zeroes in on developmental relationships “to understand how the connections that kids form with peers and adults influence their mastery of the skills and habits that are essential for success in school and in life.” (http://ow.ly/m6yNM)

The 10 titles we’ve chosen will be excellent for group listening and for generating discussions about what’s happening to the young people in the stories, from the poignant depiction of friendship in The Other Side to the real drama wrought by abuse in Eleanor and Park.

These audiobooks not only provide important group literary opportunities, they also help students understand how to develop the empathy necessary to build healthy relationships. If time for group listening is limited, have students select titles, listen to them on their own, and write about them; they will still develop that needed empathy, and they’ll also practice the critical writing skills found in so many state and national learning standards, including the following examples:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 5, 110.16 The student is expected to: (F) make connections (e.g., thematic links, author analysis) between and across multiple texts of various genres and provide textual evidence). (http://ow.ly/mkgJN)

English Standards of Learning (SOL) for Virginia, Writing, Grade 8, 8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition, persuasion, and informational. (d) Organize details to elaborate the central idea and provide unity. (http://ow.ly/mkggo)

PreS-K–Star of PBS Television’s Monkey Monkey Music, Meredith LeVande performs 15 of her original songs, most of which are in various rock musical styles, except for one bluegrass and one gentle pop tune. The goal of her music video, which is in a style similar to those of Laurie Berkner, is to get kids moving and learning. LeVande performs on guitar with a light, airy voice against various painted backgrounds with a group of multiethnic children dancing to her tunes. Each track includes some simple animation, and a monkey blows a horn to introduce each song. “Hello” and “Goodbye” open and close the production. “What Are the Odds?” has children counting by odd numbers. “In the Garden” looks at the colors of fruits and vegetables. “This Way, That Way” features opposites such as up/down, open/shut, etc. “Frogs Eat Butterflies” introduces food chains, and “Who’s a Knockin’?” has fun with knock knock jokes. The set of the 1950s themed “Turn Your Body Around” has a checkered floor, jukebox, poodle skirts, and miniature “Fonzies.” The rest of the songs include “Air Guitar,” “Circle,” “Bubbles,” “Shake It Loud,” “Wheels,” “Silly Animal Friends,” and “Willow Tree in the Wind.” The teacher’s guide, printed inside the DVD case, has ideas for using the songs. This fun production is sure to get young viewers moving and shaking!–Beverly Wrigglesworth,San Antonio Public Library, TX

PreS-Gr 3–This ocean-themed album, set in a submarine, travels the seven seas discovering musical treasures. Drew Holloway and Jack Forman welcome drummer Korum Bishoff, a new band member, on their ninth album, a rip-roaring, high energy mix of rock, hip-hop, funk, Latin, sea shanty, folk, and pop musical styles. With outstanding vocal and instrumental performances on guitar, bass, mandolin, violin, viola, cello, trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn, Wurly, and drums, the band begins with the rousing, rhythm powered “Tambourine Submarine.” Then a drum-playing fish demonstrates every kind of music on his drum set in “Fish Sticks.” They discover a coral reef that is actually a “Choral Reef” that makes beautiful music. “Shrimp” has size issues, but realizes there are perks to being short. A “Seahorse” is the deep sea cowboy’s mount as he ropes shrimp and patrols the mangroves. The other songs include “The Deep End” (of the swimming pool), “Beach Ball,” “Compass Rose,” “Tattoo Me,” “The Seven Cs” (all the crew’s names begin with that letter), “Seagull,” “Up Periscope,” “Walkie Talkies,” “Making Waves,” and “Stranded” (when a best friend moves away). With zippy, quirky lyrics and superb musicianship, Recess Monkey continues to be a cut above other kindie bands.–Beverly Wrigglesworth,San Antonio Public Library, TX

Gr 5-8–Black’s tale (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013) of friendship and the trials of growing up is set against the backdrop of a spooky ghost story. Zach Barlow loves to make things up. He and his friends Poppy and Alice spend every afternoon concocting new adventures for their dolls and action figures. However, Zach’s recently returned father is less than thrilled about his son spending his time playing with dolls instead of taking part in more age-appropriate activities, such as basketball. When he commits a drastic act to force Zach to give up his play-acting, it precipitates a series of events that send Zach, Poppy, andAliceon a midnight quest to lay to rest the soul of a murdered girl, a soul that now inhabits a bone china doll.  Along the way, the trio uncovers secrets about the past and one another, and discovers that they are capable of more than they ever realized. Nick Podehl expertly voices the three friends as well as the unforgettable characters Tin-Shoe Joe and the pink-haired librarian, Miss Katherine. Black has written an adventurous ghost tale that fans of Mary Downing Hahn and Peg Kehret and devotees of the author’s previous novels will love.–Michaela Schied, formerly,Indian River Middle School,Philadelphia,NY

PreS-Gr 1–Singer/songwriter Nina Stone hits all the right notes with her second album. Her voice is strong and clear, and each song is delightful, whether it is putting a new spin on the alphabet, touting the joys of the hula hoop, or providing instructions on how to wash your hands. Songs based on the books How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen and Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. will have children clamoring for the stories, as will the song “Wild Things” which is inspired by Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. With most of the numbers running about three minutes, they will work best in story times or programs that feature a music or singing element. The unique concept of this album makes it a must-have for every collection.–Veronica De Fazio,Plainfield Public Library District,IL

Wild Kratts: Rainforest Rescue. DVD. 55min. Prod. by Wild Kratts/9 Story Entertainment. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2013. ISBN 978-1-60883-865-3. $9.99.

Gr 1-4–Brothers Martin and Chris Kratt continue their series with two new episodes—“Rainforest Stew” and “Shadow: The Black Jaguar”—that take place inCentral America. In addition to talking about the rainforest’s diversity of plants, animals, and insects, the brothers briefly explain how the creatures can be interdependent. They share details about animals such as the harpy eagle which is the strongest of the birds of prey, and the tapir, which goes into the water to get away from predators. Each episode is bookended by the brothers giving an overview and showing live footage of the animals in their natural environment. The inclusion of more live-action footage of some of the exotic animals such as jaguars and leopards would have been an added treat. The middle sections are hokey animated adventures where teen apprentices download information to the Kratt’s Creature Power Suits. In these suits, the brothers demonstrate some animal talents while rescuing creatures from a chef/poacher and an evil mastermind. These bad guys are not scary, and children will find that they are easily foiled. The Kratts always bring solid information and a great deal of enthusiasm to their programs. A good combination of education and enjoyment.–C.A. Fehmel,St. LouisCounty Library,MO

When Life Gives You O.J.

Gr 4-6–Zelly Fried has problems. Her best friend is off at camp and hasn’t written. Her Jewish family has recently moved to Vermont after the death of her grandmother, Bubbles. Her grandfather, Ace, is now living with them. And she wants a dog, but her parents won’t let her have one. That’s a lot for a 10-year-old (almost 11) to put up with. Then Ace comes up with an idea—a “practice dog.” If Zelly can prove that she’s responsible with the surrogate, surely she can convince her parents she’s ready for the real thing. This explains why Zelly is dragging a plastic orange juice jug around town on a leash all summer. Is there humiliation involved? Of course. Will it be worth it? Who knows? Perl’s fabulous story (Knopf, 2011) receives first-class treatment in this audio version. Abigail Revasch is amazing as she creates different voices and styles for each character. Ace’s broad Jewish accent and his interfering, storytelling ways come across especially well here, as does the young but determined voice of Zelly. This delightful story will have listeners giggling, while rooting for Zelly’s ultimate pet success.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA

This year, Kellgren will appear twice in the SYNC program. Her recording of Maryrose Wood’s The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling (HarperAudio) will be available starting tomorrow through June 12. Later in the summer, her recording of Enchanted (Brilliance Audio) by Alethea Kontis—which was nominated for an Audie Award—will be available from August 8 to August 14.

Ahead of the first download’s release and a busy calendar of events promoting audiobooks, SLJ caught with Kellgren for a candid chat about her start in the field, the joys—and challenges—of narrating YA literature, the importance of audio in boosting kids’ literacy, and her upcoming projects. Kellgren even stopped by our New York City offices to record a few video segments for us.

How did you get started in the field of narrating audiobooks?
The first audiobook…I actually made myself for my father. I was living in England and my dad was in New York, and he had Parkinson’s disease, and it affected his ability to read. He used to be a great reader, and it was very frustrating for him. He had a detective author that he absolutely loved, Freeman Wills Crofts, who wrote a lot in the 1920s and 1930s. So I found an out-of-print book and recorded it for [him]. [It] was called The Box Office Murders. It was really silly! The first line was something like, [in heavy accent] “Little did Inspector French know when he picked up the telephone he was embarking upon one of the most sinister and dastardly episodes in his career.” It was hilarious.

At that point I was in drama school, London Academy of Music, and we’d done some audio acting training there as well as stage acting training, but doing this book suddenly reminded me how much I loved to listen to audiobooks when I was a child, a teenager and preteen. I was a voracious listener of audiobooks, and in fact audiobooks introduced me to the work of a lot of my favorite authors.

After [my father] got more and more ill, I moved back to New York and I spent a lot of time reading to him in person, and he chose actually quite a lot of young adult books that he’d loved when he was a child and a teen. And he was a very dignified man, a banker and a very serious individual, but he also always loved children’s literature. So I read him Treasure Island and a book by John Masefield called Martin Hyde: The Duke’s Messenger, which was a kind of boy’s adventure story. And as I was sitting there reading for him, I thought, ‘you know, I’d really like to try to find a job reading an audiobook.’

Can you remember some of your earliest favorite recordings?
When I was about 13 or so, I got a double cassette tape called Ages of Man; it was John Gielgud reading speeches from Shakespeare. And I loved this. I memorized all of the speeches. By listening to him reading, Shakespeare—to me, an early teenager—suddenly seemed a lot less intimidating, and a lot more approachable. Because when you have somebody who is not only such a wonderful actor as he was, but who understood the language so well and spoke it so intelligently, it gives you a huge head start yourself in understanding the language. So I started reading Shakespeare’s plays because I felt more comfortable doing so, by listening to these cassettes…. and it sort of spiraled from there.

And that happened with a lot of authors. I would first be introduced to their work on audio and then I would start reading it in print. I remember I also had—and I still listen to these things, by the way, all the time—Ralph Richardson Reads ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’ And then I went out and read the actual long-form poem and started getting into Coleridge, and in this way, my love of reading was really stimulated and encouraged by audio. Which is why I think SYNC is so wonderful, because it gives a chance for young listeners to be exposed to the work not only of classic authors but wonderful contemporary authors, and hopefully encourages them both to listen more and to read more.

Can you tell us more about audiobooks and the SYNC program?
I think there’s an increasing awareness in how important [it is], children listening to audiobooks and the impact that has on their literacy. And speaking as someone who lived this, someone who was a child and really was encouraged to read by listening to audiobooks, I am so totally behind this idea. So programs like SYNC are a wonderful way to introduce both educators and children to audiobooks as tool to help promote reading and literacy skills in younger kids. Recently, I went on The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, and I wrote up all these children’s literacy talking points so I could use specifics, and I found this really amazing thing in Audiobooks for Youth: A Practical Guide to Sound Literature by Mary Burkey—who I know and just love, she’s a wonderful librarian—a quote that said, ‘the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.’ And that’s not only a parent reading to a child, an audiobook can also do that.

So I think the structure of SYNC is really amazing; that they have every week a classic book and a then a contemporary book, both on a similar theme. So teens who have both kinds of interests will be attracted by one or the other of those genres, hopefully. And then, hopefully, encouraged by one audiobook they’ll go for another, reaching out for an audiobook that they haven’t necessarily encountered before and maybe discover something new that they love.

What are some of your favorite titles that you’ve recorded over the years?
It’s hard to say! Recently, both of the series that are on SYNC were a huge, huge amount of fun to record. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place is just a hilariously written series. I just loved doing it. It has such a scope to be a complete ham, as I am. It has all sorts of wacky voices and animal sounds and just generalized madness. I guess it’s not in the first book, but the second book features thespian pirates and a chase through the streets of London with a parrot squawking. And I have to thank the brilliant author for this because she writes such delicious material. And Enchanted is just a beautifully written fairy tale mash-up book. It’s very magical but it’s also very funny, so it’s a lovely combination of humor and a magical element to it. [And] there are tons of others.

Another of my most favorite series is “Bloody Jack” [by Claire de Loon, Listen & Live Audio] and it’s about a little girl who dresses as a boy and joins the Royal Navy and fights pirates. It all takes place in the end of the 18^th century, and it’s just one swashbuckling adventure after another. We just finished recording Book 10, and she gets into such scrapes, you wouldn’t believe. That one is very fun, too.

What titles are on your wish list?
I’d love to do Moll Flanders! I’d love to do Vanity Fair. A lot of the books that are my favorite books, I would be completely inappropriate [as narrator]. One of my most favorite books is The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy—and that would be very hard to put on audio in the first place because there are a lot of visual elements to the book—but that’s narrated from the point of view of a man. And I also love  P.G. Wodehouse a lot, but again, most of the books are narrated from the point of view of a man. Damon Runyon I love as well, but it’s all gangsters, and male ones at that.

How do you prepare for recording a book?
The first thing I do is read the book through really carefully at home, and I’ll make a note of any words I have to look up for pronunciations, any accents that might come up in the book that I’ll need to study up on. I make notes of dialect, and also if there are any songs in the book. I can’t sing them if they’re not in the public domain, but I do a lot of books like the “Bloody Jack” series where each book will have 10 or 15 traditional sea shanties and ballads. And I will go through and find all the original music for them and sing them, or sing whatever parts of them the author has put into the book.

So you utilize your musical training?
Yes, exactly. And I think, where appropriate, it enhances the experience, to have original tunes of songs. It lends a bit of atmosphere to a book. Because I think that when an author is writing the book, they’re probably thinking of that tune, and what it evokes to a reader. So I try to give the full service if I possibly can and sing the song.

What about animal sounds or sound effects?
[laughs]. Oh, totally. Well, there are a number of websites that you can find animal sounds on. I recently discovered the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which has an amazing website for bird calls. And it is spectacular. You can search and find bird calls of zillions of different species.

So you’ll include bird calls in a book?
Where appropriate. In the most recent ‘Incorrigible Children’ book, the author had a very aggravated ostrich giving a warning cry, and she had written ‘foo, foo, foo.’ [laughs] How do I make that convincingly aggressive and menacing to the listener?

And sometimes…well, I remember one book that was all about a search for a missing artifact, and our heroes discover that inside this artifact is a rolled up scroll which contains a lost Eroica Variation of Beethoven. And the author wrote out an entire paragraph that was just, ‘dee dee dee dum, deedle deedle dee dum dum!’ So I just sat down at the piano and played. [I thought], ‘oh my god, what am I going to do?’ And I had to spend days listening to the Eroica Variations and then trying to write something that sounded very similar to that and would fit all the ‘deedle deedle dums’ that the author had written. And then kind of sing it at the end of the book. [laughs] I don’t think when authors write things out they are always thinking about the audiobook. Sometimes it’s enormous fun, but there are a lot of very challenging things in books that can take a lot of work to put into audio form.

What was that book?
A Rather Curious Engagement. I’m definitely not claiming that my version of the Eroica Variations is exactly that brilliant but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. [laughs]

You are a passionate advocate for audiobooks and literacy. Can you tell us more?
I am always delighted to be asked to appear and to talk about children’s literacy and audiobooks, and talking to librarians and educators and kids wherever I can. There are some librarians who are my heroes, who are real stars of advocacy for children’s audio, like Mary Burkey and Sharon Grover, and Lissette Hannigan, who have written books for ALA, and the people who serve on Odyssey committees. Those are the people who are the real stars.

Coming at it as a narrator, because it was so important to me as a child, I feel that if there is any way that I can share that with another child growing up now and they could get the pleasure I got from listening to audio, I feel that that’s a very worthy thing to be involved in.

There’s something about being told a story; there’s a kind of intimate experience there that you can get from no other medium, really. And just as I loved it when I was little and my dad would read to me, or when I was a little older and I was listening to all those cassette tapes, the magic of being told a story is something that can really broaden your horizons and bring you a lot of joy. So I try to get out and talk to anyone I can about that experience.

What do you like to listen to for fun?
I always, since I was a kid, listen to audiobooks. I just listened to a really beautiful one called Oddly Normal, a memoir of this New York Times reporter and his son, his son coming out as gay, and the family dynamics. And it was really a beautiful book. He read that himself and he did a beautiful job.

And every single year since it came out, I listen to this recording of Alfred Molina reading Treasure Island, for some reason! [laughs] I can’t get enough of it.

Recently I was listening to something that I love to listen to over and over, The Roald Dahl Audio Collection. It’s him reading from his own work, and I’m particularly fond of his recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It really is kind of a spiritual experience. If you haven’t heard it, it is too much fun for words. And my husband is actually a theater critic and we were going to see Matilda, and so I played him this, and he loved it. It’s a great recording. And I listen to early jazz and classical music and stuff like that, but there’s a lot of audiobooks in there.

What’s next for you?
At the moment, I’m working on a nine-book series, the “Elizabeth the First Mysteries.” Those are very fun books to read and I’m really enjoying recording them. [They] require a lot of research, but a lot of fun research: Elizabethan medical lore, and there was a whole book that involved Renaissance lute music, and I had to look up all sorts of old songs and then write tunes based on John Dowland.

This summer, I will be going to ALA in Chicago to be a part of the Odysseys—one of the books I read got the Odyssey Honor [Monstrous Beauty (Macmillan Audio] by Elizabeth Fama]—and then I’m also going to be in an audio festival in Kansas City, MO, called the Hear Now Festival. It’s going to feature not only audiobook narration but audio drama, and all sorts of different audio art. And I’m looking forward to have the chance to read from audiobooks and talking to people about what goes into making them.

What advice do you have for librarians seeking to boost interest in audiobooks?
I guess some people think that listening is ‘cheating’ and that if you listen to a book you are unlikely to read a book—but my experience is exactly the opposite. That listening to books makes you want to read books, and opens up worlds to you, and it’s a great tool to bring students into a knowledge of literature and a love of reading. It introduces you to literature in a way that’s like nothing else.

Same Sun Here (Brilliance), written by Silas House and Neela Vaswani and read by the authors, was the winner of the Children’s Title for Ages 8–12. Alexander McCall Smith’s The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case (Listening Library), read by Adjoa Andoh, received the award in the Children’s Titles for Ages Up to 8 category, while The Fault in Our Stars (Brilliance) by John Green, read by Kate Rudd, won in the Teens category.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Audible), read by a full cast including Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, Katherine Kellgren, Simon Prebble, and others, garnered the awards for Distinguished Achievement in Production as well as Multi-Voiced Performance. The judges remarked that “in this age when encounters with vampires seem to come with the regularity of trips to the grocery store, it is a chilling pleasure to listen to this startlingly terrifying original book.” A complete list of finalists and award winners can be found on the APA’s website.

Michele Cobb, President of the APA, said: “Another great night, another great year, another great list of winners. As the industry grows and thrives we reach new heights of visibility, quality and enthusiasm for the format–all reflected in every one of tonight’s nominees and winners!”

The Audio Publishers Association is a not-for-profit trade organization whose primary goals are to “promote awareness of the audiobook industry, gather and disseminate industry statistics, encourage high production standards, and represent the interests of audiobook publishers.”