REsearch And Development

Audiobooks for Children Is This Really Reading? Ruth Cox Clark

hildren of all ages can be seen walking, riding their Reading has also been referred to as the mechanical prelude to bikes, or sitting on the bus with earphones clearly vis- engaging the content; what really matters is what the reader’s Cible—from the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough FP3 player for mind and imagination does with that content.5 If the goal for the youngest listeners to the colorful iPod Shuffle for tweens. children is to become readers who can understand the mes- sage, think critically about the content, use their imagination, “Today, twenty percent of Americans over the age of twelve and make connections with the book, then listening to audio- own at least one iPod or other MP3 player, compared to books can help them do all this while developing their listening only eight percent in 2002.”1 We don’t know if these audio skills.6 technology–savvy children are listening to music or an audio- book, but with the steady increase in audiobook sales, some Children may choose to listen to a book they have previously may very well be interacting with Harry Potter or Junie B. read. Elements only found in the audiobook, including music, Jones. a skilled narrator’s use of voices and dialects, and supplemen- tal materials such as an interview with the author add to their A consumer survey conducted in May 2006 on trends in audio- enjoyment of the book. book listening indicates that “approximately half of audiobook listeners with children between the ages of four and seventeen “It is fine to savor, even to prefer, the voice we hear in our own indicated their children have listened to an audiobook in the heads as we read, but confining ourselves to our own voices last twelve months.”2 And, it isn’t just sales. A Library Journal means a more narrow experience of literature.”7 And, as Eileen survey indicates that circulation of children’s audiobooks in Hutton reminds us, “the spoken word has been around a lot libraries has increased by 10.7 percent and library budgets for longer than Gutenberg’s offspring.”8 According to a lengthy children’s audiobooks have risen 4.8 percent during 2004.3 body of research, experiencing a book in both formats increases a child’s comprehension and vocabulary.

Value of Audiobooks Audiobooks can also be considered a bridge to reading, a way for young readers to enjoy literature at their listening com- Some librarians and teachers have suggested that listening prehension level, which is significantly above their reading to books is cheating—real reading can only take place with a print book. Yet, reading can be broadly defined as the ability to intellectually process the text while understanding the literary Prepared by the ALSC Research and Development or informational content, or from a narrower perspective, a Committee: Eliza Dresang, chair; Ruth Cox Clark, guest reader’s ability to decode letter sequences, along with under- author; Gaye Hinchliff; Bowie Kotrla; Barbara Silverman; Rita standing the grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary employed Smith; Ya-Ling Lu; and Crystal Faris. in the text.4

Spring 2007 • Children and Libraries 49 REsearch And Development level.9 Consider the English as a Second of Education report Becoming a Nation Audiobook Usage,” www Language or dyslexic student who wants of Readers states, “In a study involv- .audiopub.org/files/public/ to join classmates in reading the class ing a nationwide sample of thousands 2006ConsumerSurvey novel but finds an inability to read the of students, listening comprehension in COMPLETEFINAL.pdf (accessed book frustrating. Offering the audiobook the fifth grade was the best predictor Nov. 16, 2006). allows the student to comprehend the of performance on a range of aptitude 3. Shawn Taylor Zelman, story as well as join in the class inter- and achievement tests in high school.”13 “Audiobooks—Not Just Another action and discussion of the book. For Experiencing audiobooks allows chil- Book on the Library Shelf,” Selection those children who may skip over the dren to hone their listening skills. Notes—Kentucky Department for print text, skimming rather than reading, Libraries and Archives, www.kdla audiobooks hold them to the text, not .kygov/onlinepubs/selectionnotes/ skipping a word. What We Can Do About It AprilJune2005/feature.htm (accessed Nov. 14, 2006). The increased availability of quality 4. Carol Simpson, “Editor’s Notes: The A Family Affair audiobooks for children, often released Tale of the Tape,” Library Media at the same time as the print version, Connection 24, no. 7 (Apr./May Audiobooks can bring families together. allows young readers and listeners to 2006): 8. We often hear of librarians and teach- reflect on how their listening and reading 5. Pamela Varley, “As Good as ers who listen to audiobooks as they experiences with a book differ. A child Reading? Kids and the Audiobook commute to work, but children are also may prefer a particular form of interac- Revolution,” The Horn Book 78, no. commuters, spending many hours in tion based on the genre or subject of the 3 (May/Jun. 2002): 252–62. the backseat of the family car while on book. Pamela Varley says, “Audiobooks 6. Readingrockets, “Benefits of vacation, on the way to soccer practice, will give some kids a fresh chance to find Audiobooks for All Readers,” and waiting in rush-hour traffic. Families their way to books, and other kids, a new www.readingrockets.org/article/ can experience “communal listening,” way to hold onto them.”14 64?theme=print (accessed Nov. 16, choosing a book that will offer some- 2006). thing of interest to all age ranges within Keep this in mind when a child or parent 7. Kristi Jemtegaard, “Readers vs. the family. The littlest one in the car seat visits the library asking for a good book. Listeners,” Booklist 101, no. 15 (Apr. may not know what all the words mean, Don’t assume the book has to be in print 1, 2005): 1399. but just the experience of listening to a format. Offer audiobook versions as well. 8. Eileen Hutton, “Audiobooks Deserve well-narrated story is beneficial.10 Suggest to parents who say their child Marketing, Too,” Publishers Weekly does not like to read that they check out 252, no. 42 (Oct. 24, 2005): 66. both formats and let their child decide 9. Varley, “As Good as Reading?”: 255. What We Should Keep in Mind which format he or she wants to experi- 10. Robin Whitten, “Speaking of Audio: ence. And, join our technologically savvy Audio on the Go,” www.bookweb Before assuming the audiobook experi- children by experiencing audiobooks .org/news/btw/4853.html (accessed ence is going to be welcomed with open yourself so you can discuss and recom- Nov. 14, 2006). ears by all children, understand that mend them based on knowledge of both 11. Deborah Locke, “Heard Any Good audiobooks are not an initial hit with the content and the format.  Books Lately?,” Book Links 11, no. 2 every child, especially visual learners. (Nov. 2001): 26–29. These children are very comfortable in 12. Denise Marchionda, “A Bridge to the multimedia world of television and References Literacy: Creating Lifelong Readers surfing the Web but often have had very Through Audiobooks,” AudioFile 10, little practice in “pure listening” and may 1. Andrew Adam Newman, “Get a no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 2001): 19–20, 55. find their first audiobook experience Download of This,” AudioFile 15, 13. U.S. Dept. of Education, challenging.11 Although listening com- no. 3 (Oct./Nov. 2006): 25. Becoming a Nation of Readers: prehension is not a skill that receives a 2. Audio Publishers Association, The Report of the Commission on great deal of attention in the classroom, “Audio Publishers Association Reading (Washington, D.C.: U.S. it is, nevertheless, a much-needed skill Releases Major Consumer Survey Department of Education, 1985): 30. throughout life.12 The U.S. Department and Announces Increase in 14. Varley, “As Good as Reading?” 261.

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