Kiddio audio "adventures" a good complement to audiobooks

We're so busy playing music around here that I often forget just how much my kids love other types of audio entertainment. We've listened to several StoryNory stories and enjoyed them immensely, but I've never searched out any other options.

Jens Hewerer, Top Kid of "very little startup" Kiddio recently sent me two of his company's award-winning "audio adventures" for review: Billy Brown Goes Hiking and Billy Brown and the Mystery Package, and the response from both my kids (7 and almost 4) has been immediate and laser-focussed: PLAY BILLY BROWN! at all hours.

Frankly, I'm surprised that my kids are so enamored with these simple stories about a friendly bear and his friend, Emma -- the storylines and sound effects are pretty basic and the voices tend toward exaggerated cheerfulness. But then I realized just how much skill it takes to produce an audio story that clearly communicates emotions and situations to young children without the added information pictures provide. I may be getting tired of hearing these stories over and over, but my kids seem to enjoy them more (and notice more detail) with each retelling. They like to listen while drawing or playing with clay. Ideal for road trips or plane flights.

New Billy Brown adventures come out every three months (in fact a new one is in print as we speak).

Comments

[Sarah]

I'll have to check these out. My daughter used to love to looks at book during car trips but she started getting car sick and now story cds/mp3s are what get us through any trips. She likes to listen to them around town too.

[tuesday]

I reviewed these cds at my blog too. I thought they were great and my kids really enjoyed them.
best of all, I was able to cook dinner in peace!

[The Not Quite Crunchy Parent]

I'll try these- my DS loves audio books - we like Classical Kids CD, Jim Weiss and some of the DK audio books. These are a great and creative approach to TV - and a lot less passive.