Family Friendly Audio Books?

[la79al]

We have a 15 hour drive coming up in a few weeks and DH likes to listen to 'books on tape' (downloaded from the library). Anyone have any suggestions for books that my husband will enjoy that we can listen to with kids in the car? They don't need to be entertained by it, I would just rather it was a more PG story line.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Harry Potter

ETA

Kingdom keepers

 

[OneOftheB's]

My kids (6&9 at the time) loved listening to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen on a short trip. There are several in that series, but it can be somewhat intense for the very young ones. Holes is another one that comes to mind.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

My husband listens to the Brandon Sandersen books...Mistborn. There are a couple places you would want to avoid though, um, s-e-x.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We listened to "The Wright Brothers" on our way to the beach last year. I'm not a fan of history type books, but it was pretty interesting.

 

[sets14]

39 Clues- a great mystery for kids and adults. There are a ton of them. They are a series so start at the beginning!

 

[sets14]

Also a podcast- The mysterious disappearance of Mars Patel- and it's free!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon audiobooks are some of my favorites ever. Nothing at all like the films, and very funny and whimsical. 'How to Speak Dragonese' is my favorite. They're read by David Tennant in his delightful Scottish accent but aren't difficult to understand at all.

 

[scrapquitler]

This might not be a popular option, but it's one we use and love. We got to our local library and borrow the CD versions of the Great Courses. They are 30 and 45 minute college level lectures in a series which equal a semester worth of lectures of widely varied topics. We've listened to everything from lectures about the bible, appreciating wine, the Renaissance, American History, the history of mathematics, philosophy, how to write fiction, etc. They really speak to my homeschool heart, and my kids always enjoyed them even if some of the material was above their level, they always learned something.

 

[NotUrsula]

Your librarian can help with suggestions, just ask. I agree that HP and Kingdom Keepers are good choices.

Generally speaking, YA titles on themes that are more "adventure" oriented will be good choices that are fine for kids to hear, and that won't bore the stuffing out of adults (never a good idea when you're driving.)
YA titles that have "coming of age" themes can be a bit problematic, as the authors like to make the angst realistic, which usually means that there will be some rough language and themes that might be inappropriate for younger kids, such as substance abuse and sex.

I also love audio books for long drives. I'm partial to humor titles and very action-packed thrillers, because those work best to keep me alert. (Getting caught up in "what's going to happen next?" keeps your adrenaline up a bit.) Bonus points if I can find a novel set in the area that I'm visiting: for instance, I *love* Randy White's Doc Ford novels on drives to Florida. (Those generally are not kid-friendly, though.)

Oh, and along the lines of the Great Courses idea, downloading TEDTalks podcasts can be very good as well. The stories and the style tend to be a bit more breezy and approachable.