AudioFile Best Audiobooks List1 for The Children’s Book Review*
AudioFile’s 2023 Best Children and Family Listening Audiobooks feature adventurous tales for young listeners. These stories take readers into magical worlds full of supernatural creatures and apartment buildings where budding superheroes live and tell stories of self-discovery and hope. Each audiobook is narrated by talented narrators who bring these unforgettable stories to life.
Elf Dog and Owl Head
Story by M.T. Anderson
Read by Pete Cross
Dreamscape | 4.25 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Narrator Pete Cross makes magic of his own in Anderson’s newest fantasy for middle-grade listeners. Cross imbues a teen named Clay with youthful sincerity and awe and gives every secondary character a unique voice and energy level. Review »
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Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy
Story by Angie Thomas
Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Harper Audio | 9.5 hrs. | Ages 8+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Magic flows as Joniece Abbott-Pratt brings to life Nic Blake’s 12th birthday. Abbott-Pratt skillfully portrays real and supernatural characters throughout. She enhances descriptive passages, along with the folklore that grounds this outstanding start to a new series. Review »
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Remember Us
Story by Jacqueline Woodson
Read by Jacqueline Woodson
Listening Library | 3 hrs. | Ages 10+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Jacqueline Woodson renders her story’s rhythms skillfully, emphasizing refrains that allow listeners to luxuriate in her words and linger in powerful details. She paints a picture of her beloved Brooklyn, creates memorable characters, and gives voice to a young person who is finding her true self. Review »
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Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild
Story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee
Read by Lori Prince and Sandor Katz
Live Oak Media | 10 mins. | Ages 6+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Fermentation expert Sandor Katz’s hearty voice punctuates Lori Prince’s overall narration of this picture book biography of Katz, who moved to a “community of queer folk” in Tennessee in search of a healthy life after his HIV diagnosis. The whole package fizzes with briny verve. Review »
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale
Story by Jon Klassen
Read by Fairuza Balk, Jon Klassen [Afterword]
Dreamscape | 22 mins. | Ages 6+ | AudioFile Earphones Award
Narrator Fairuza Balk expertly differentiates the characters in Klassen’s retelling of a mysterious Tyrolean folktale. The use of music and sound effects—heavy, regal strains, along with a whistling wind and a crackling fire—befit the setting and story. Review »
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Stuntboy, In-Between Time
Story by Jason Reynolds
Read by Guy Lockard2, 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 with lively music and goofy sound effects. This audiobook is absolutely hilarious and, at the same time, is a heartfelt story about managing big changes in the family. Review »
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For the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks, visit AudioFile’s website.
- Jacqueline Woodson photo © John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation—used with permission. Pete Cross photo by Paul Gagne. ↩︎
- AudioFile will feature exclusive interviews with narrators from this year’s Best Audiobooks on the podcast, Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine. Guy Lockard’s interview will be airing on December 11th. ↩︎
