Junie B. Jones and the Case for Kids' Audio Books

Kids audio books are fantastic tools to keep work-at-home moms' kids engaged in a positive independent play activity.

They help teach language skills such as listening comprehension, vocabulary and pronunciation. And like wordless children's books, they can instill a love of literature before a child can read.

So I'm an advocate of kids' audio books for all ages.

But I have to confess one less noble reason for loving kids' audio books is they've given me a guilt-free release from reading Junie B. Jones books.

Until I spied the Junie audio books in the library, I dutifully read this series, aimed at the elementary-school set, because my youngest has a passion for them. She loves 6-year-old Junie's penchant for telling it like it is while saying things like "yucky blucky."

Nevermind that I find the supposedly cute protagonist exceedingly annoying. The liberal use of capital letter hurts my eyes and Junie's habit of dropping syllables tires my tongue.

For me reading the Junie books is a chore on par with vacuuming, not the joy that reading to my child should be. So the audio books were a gold mine for both of us: hours of uninterrupted Junie for her, more time for vacuuming and other more pleasurable activities for me.

If your child is a Junie fan, I recommend Junie B. Jones audio books. The reader portrays Junie perfectly with all her irritating pronunciations and plain-spoken petulance.

So I also recommend headphones.

More on Kids' Audio Books:

• Find Junie B. Jones and Other Kids Audio Books
• HarperCollins Children's Audio Books
• Houghton Mifflin Audio Books for Kids

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