This week I'll highlight the wonderful audiobooks we've been listening to in the car.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio was mentioned in the resource section of Sticks and Stones, and so I put a hold on it from our library. The audio version is mesmerizing, with different readers to voice each section of the book that is told from the point of view of a different character. Ten year old Auggie is a "wonder" - he has a rare genetic disorder that has left his faced deformed. Because of all the surgery he has had to undergo, he's been homeschooled until 5th grade, when he enters Middle School. It's hard for Auggie to be accepted, but the problems Auggie faces are really just like those all the other kids (and it's told from their point of view also) face in this tender book that shows just how vulnerable, imperfect, but also loving and hopeful we all can be. It's a truly lovely gem of a book.
Scat by Carl Hiaasen is another of the author's fun environmentalist adventures for kids, set in Florida's swamps. A class-field trip to the Black Vine Swamp is interrupted by a wild-fire, and then the dreaded biology teacher, Mrs. Starch, disappears mysteriously after she goes back into the swamp to search for some dropped asthma medication. The mystery of what happened takes several students on quite the adventure. Based on how much the whole family loved Chomp, I've been getting other books by the author for the kids. However, while my husband loved Chomp as read by James Van Der Beek, he could not stand the reading of Scat by Edward Asner (Asner's voice is a bit phlemy). The kids didn't mind Asner's voice, and are eager for more from Hiaasen.
And there you have the listening part of our reading life.
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