Looking for an easy way to include audiobooks in your classroom or school library? Take advantage of your public library's downloadable titles. Initiate a program for your students to apply for their own public library card through your classroom. In my school, I require all students to have a library card so that I can teach the use of the public library's online databases. To use the public library's downloadable audiobooks, you must have a non-iPod player - a barrier for many of my students. So I have purchased inexpensive MP3 players that are cataloged & may be checked out by students. Post-Thanksgiving sales have lots of players for less than $20 - no need for anything fancy. Have a how-to-download workshop for students & staff, demo how to use their library card to download audiobooks onto their own MP3 player or your school players, and you've created new audiobook evangelists! After last year's how-to-download workshop, I had a bunch of teachers who bought MP3 players for themselves & family members for holiday gifts (the biggest enthusiast was our social studies teacher's truck driving father). And once you've hooked a teacher, they will encourage their students to listen. Worried about copyright? Most downloaded audiobooks "expire," but to be extra careful, be sure to delete content from your school MP3 players as they are checked in.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
ALAN 2007: Presentation notes & title list
Presented at the 2007 ALAN Conference by Mary Burkey featuring audiobook narrator Michael Boatman
Voice
is like verbal fingerprints that a writer imprints on the page.
It is a mix of individuality, confidence, engagement with the topic, and reader rapport, and something that keeps the reader reading.
• Spandel, V. (2005). Creating writers through 6-trait writing assessment and instruction, (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Story
Once upon a time, oral storytelling ruled.
It was the medium through which people learned their history, settled their arguments, and came to make sense of the phenomena of their world.
• Teaching Storytelling A Position Statement from the Committee on Storytelling (1992)
Medium
a means by which something is expressed, communicated, or achieved a form of storage for computer software, such as magnetic tape or disks
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Audience
the assembled spectators or listeners at an event origin: Latin audientia, from audire ‘hear’
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Reading
the action or skill of reading an interpretation of a text
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Voice of Youth
Buddha Boy / Kathe Koja / Full Cast Audio
So Much to Tell You / James Marsden / Bolinda Audio
The Girls / Amy Goldman Koss / Full Cast Audio
Dead Fathers Club / Matt Haig / HighBridge Audio
Alice, I Think / Susan Juby / HarperCollins Audio
First Part Last / Angela Johnson / Listening Library
Born to Rock / Gordon Korman / Brilliance Audio
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie / Jordan Sonnenblick / Scholastic Audio
Voice of Difference
Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan / Full Cast Audio
A Corner of the Universe / Ann M. Martin / Listening Library
Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman / Recorded Books
Alt Ed / Catherine Atkins / Recorded Books
Accidents of Nature / Harriet McBryde Johnson / Listening Library
The Curious Incidence of the Dog in the Night-time / Mark Haddon / Recorded Books
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town / Kimberly Willis Holt / Listening Library
Voice of Culture
The Power of One / Bryce Courtenay / Bolinda Audio
When My Name Was Keoko / Linda Sue Park / Recorded Books
The Book Thief / Markus Zusak / Listening Library
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency / Alexander McCall Smith / Recorded Books
The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer / Recorded Books
The Wee Free Men / Terry Pratchett / Harper Children’s Audio
Whale Rider / Witi Ihimaera / Bolinda
Bindi Babes / Narinder Dhami / Listening Library
Homeless Bird / Gloria Whelan / Listening Library
A Pack of Lies / Geraldine McCaughrean / BBC Audiobooks America
Voice of Region
Dairy Queen / Catherine Gilbert Murdock / Listening Library
Bucking the Sarge / Christopher Paul Curtis / Listening Library
Parrot in the Oven / Victor Martinez / Harper Audio
Buried Onions / Gary Soto / Recorded Books
Blues Journey / Walter Dean Myers / Live Oak Media
Secret Life of Bees / Sue Monk Kidd / HighBridge Company
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood / Benjamin Alire Saenz / Recorded Books
To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee / Caedmon
Voice of the Author
The Golden Compass / Philip Pullman / Listening Library
The Misfits / James Howe / Full Cast Audio
A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray / Listening Library
The Cay / Theodore Taylor / Listening Library
Esperanza Rising / Pam Muñoz Ryan / Listening Library
Angela’s Ashes / Frank McCourt / Simon and Schuster Audio
A Hole in My Life / Jack Gantos / Listening Library
The Voice of the Narrator
Michael Patrick Boatman. Actor (Hamburger Hill, Spin City, China Beach), author (God Laughs When You Die), audiobook narrator (The Cay, Bucking the Sarge, the voice of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins)
Thanks to Random House Audio for sponsoring the appearance of Michael Boatman.
Material compiled & presented by Mary Burkey November 2007. Contact mburkey@columbus.rr.com
Audiobook Resources
Compiled by Mary Burkey November 2007. Contact mburkey@columbus.rr.com
Articles:
Beavin, Kristi. "Audiobooks: Four Styles of Narration." Horn Book Magazine Sep. 1996: 566-573.
Beers, Kylene. "Listen While You Read." School Library Journal Apr. 1998: 30.
Burkey, Mary. "Sounds Good to Me: Listening to Audiobooks with a Critical Ear." Booklist 01 June 2007: 104.
Clark, Ruth Cox. "Audiobooks for Children: Is This Really Reading?." Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children Spring 2007: 49-50.
Dowell, Jennifer M. “The Alchemy of Children’s Audio.” AudioFile Apr./May 2001: 18-23.
Fallows, James. "Reading by Ear." Atlantic Monthly Jan. 2001: 16-17.
Goldsmith, Francisca. "Earphone English." School Library Journal May 2002: 50.
Grover, Sharon, and Lizette D. Hannegan. "Not Just for Listening." Book Links May 2005: 16-19.
Harmon, Amy. "Loud, Proud, Unabridged: It Is Too Reading!" New York Times 26 May 2005: G1-G2.
Harris, Karen. "What Makes a Book Narrator?" Booklist 01 Jan. 1998: 833.
Jemtegaard, Kristi Elle. "Audio Poetry: A Call to Words." Horn Book Magazine May 005: 357-364.
Jemtegaard, Kristi. "Readers vs. Listeners." Booklist 01 Apr. 2005: 1399-1399.
Seper, Chris. "To Curl Up With a Good Book, Listen Up" Plain Dealer 23 May 2005: B1.
Kozloff, Sarah. "Audio Books in Visual Culture." Journal of American Culture Winter 1995: 83.
Marchionda, Denise. “A Bridge to Literacy: Creating Lifelong Readers Through Audiobooks.” AudioFile Aug./Sept. 2001: 19-21.
Mediatore, Kaite, and Mary K. Chelton. "Reading with Your Ears." Reference & User Services Quarterly Summer 2003: 318.
Varley, Pamela. "As Good as Reading? Kids and the Audiobook Revolution." Horn Book Magazine May 2002: 251-262.
Wysocki, Barbara. "Louder, Please." School Library Journal Mar. 2005: 10-14.
Online links:
The Art & Craft of Narration: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/features/A1267.html
Audiobooks & Literacy: http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/RHI_magazine/pdf/serafini.pdf
Audiobook Lexicon: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/features/fea1007.html
Audiobook Reference Guide: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/guide_search.cfm
Audiobooks on Satellite Radio: http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelpage.xmc?ch=163
BBC’s Streaming Audio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/help/whatisbbc7.shtml
Creating Lifelong Readers Through Audiobooks: http://www.audiobookshelf.com/abridge.html
How Earphones English Started: http://www.audiobookshelf.com/eom_feb04.html
Librivox Free Public Domain Audiobooks: http://librivox.org/
Listening Library’s Teacher Resources: http://school.booksontape.com/s_promo_pam_spencer.cfm
Notable Children’s Recordings: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/childrensnotable/notablecreclist/currentnotable.htm
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production: http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/odyssey/odyssey.cfm
Podiobooks: http://www.podiobooks.com/
Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Radio Drama Resources: http://www.ruyasonic.com/
Recorded Books Resource Guides to Research & Classroom use: http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=school.resource_list
Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults: http://ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/selectedaudiobooks.htm
Tamora Pierce’s Audio Biography: http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio2.htm
Teens Help Give Voice to Audiobook Boom: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/11/emw454751.htm
A Visit With the Full Cast Audio Family: http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200606VisitAudio.pdf
Voice Acting: A New Career Opportunity: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/features/VoiceActing.html
Young Adult Audiobooks: http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/RHI_magazine/pdf/ditlow.pdf
Why Listen at All: http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200708audiotalk.pdf
Friday, November 16, 2007
Theater of the Mind: Audiobooks Live on Stage! Program Notes
Presented at the 2007 NCTE Conference by Mary Burkey, Bruce Coville, and James Howe
Voice
is like verbal fingerprints that a writer imprints on the page.
It is a mix of individuality, confidence, engagement with the topic, and reader rapport, and something that keeps the reader reading.
• Spandel, V. (2005). Creating writers through 6-trait writing assessment and instruction, (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Story
Once upon a time, oral storytelling ruled.
It was the medium through which people learned their history, settled their
arguments, and came to make sense of the phenomena of their world.
• Teaching Storytelling A Position Statement from the Committee on Storytelling (1992) http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/curr/107637.htm
Medium
a means by which something is expressed, communicated, or achieved
a form of storage for computer software, such as magnetic tape or disks
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Audience
the assembled spectators or listeners at an event
origin: Latin audientia, from audire ‘hear’
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Reading
the action or skill of reading
an interpretation of a text
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Timeline
2000 BCE : Clay tablets 220 AD: Block printing 1455 AD: Printing press
1871: Recorded sound 1917: 1st Children’s audiobook 1997: 1st audiobook download
Of the ten uses Edison envisioned for recorded sound “Phonographic Books” was number two
– and music was number four!
Listening…
Increases fluency
Raises reading comprehension
Enlarges vocabulary
Boosts pronunciation skills
Supports struggling readers
Expands literature experiences for proficient readers
Improves test scores
Evaluating Audiobooks
Audio Publishers Assoc. Audie Award
http://www.writerswrite.com/books/awards/audie.htm
YALSA’s Selected Audiobooks http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/selectedaudiobooks.htm
Notable Children’s Recordings http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/childrensnotable/Default1888.htm
Odyssey Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/odysseyaward
Full Cast Audio/Tamora Pierce’s Audio Biography:
http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio2.htm
Teens Help Give Voice to Audiobook Boom: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/11/emw454751.htm
A Visit With the Full Cast Audio Family: http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200606VisitAudio.pdf
Suggested Audiobook Titles
Meeting the Standards with Audiobooks:
Music:
What Charlie Heard / Live Oak Media
When Marian Sang / Live Oak Media
Mathematics:
The Doorbell Rang / Live Oak Media
How Much is a Million? / Weston Woods
Dramatic Arts:
Buddha Boy / Full Cast Audio
A Corner of the Universe / Listening Library
Language Arts:
Blues Journey / Live Oak Media
Graven Images / Listening Library
Heartbeat / Recorded Books
Visual Arts:
Ish / Weston Woods
The Pot That Juan Built / Weston Woods
Foreign Language:
Chato’s Kitchen / Live Oak Media
When My Name Was Keoko / Recorded Books
Science:
Snowflake Bentley / Weston Woods
Time of Wonder / Recorded Books
Mathematics:
The Doorbell Rang / Live Oak Media
How Much is a Million? / Weston Woods
Social Studies:
Duck for President / Weston Woods
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey / Live Oak Media
Revenge of the Whale / Audio Bookshelf
Sure-Fire Audiobook Hits & Just for Fun:
Alex Rider series / Anthony Horowitz / Recorded Books
Artemis Fowl series / Eoin Colfer / Listening Library
The Bartimaeus Trilogy / Jonathan Stroud / Listening Library
Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan / Full Cast Audio
Born to Rock / Gordon Korman / Brilliance Audio
The Cay / Theodore Taylor / Listening Library
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie / Jordan Sonnenblick / Scholastic Audio
A Fine, Fine School / Sharon Creech/ Live Oak Media
The Girls / Amy Goldman Koss / Full Cast Audio
The Golden Compass / Philip Pullman / Listening Library
Horace & Morris series / James Howe / Live Oak Media
The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer / Recorded Books
I, Coriander / Sally Gardner / Listening Library
I Lost My Bear / Jules Feiffer/ Weston Woods
The Misfits / James Howe / Full Cast Audio
I Stink / Kate & Jim McMullan/ Weston Woods
Lon Po Po / Ed Young / Weston Woods
A Pack of Lies / Geraldine McCaughrean / BBC Audiobooks America
Peter and the Starcatchers / Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson/ Brilliance Audio
Princess Diaries series / Meg Cabot / Listening Library
Private Peaceful / Michael Morpurgo / Recorded Books
Raven's Gate / Anthony Horowitz / Recorded Books
Sammy Keyes Mysteries / Wendelin Van Draanen / Live Oak Media
So Much to Tell You / John Marsden / Bolinda Audio
The Tale of Despereaux / Kate DiCamillo/ Listening Library
To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee / Caedmon
The Trail of the Jedi / Jude Watson / Listening Library
The Wall and the Wing / Laura Ruby/ Brilliance Audio
Will You Sign Here John Hancock? / Jean Fritz / Weston Woods
Complied & presented by Mary Burkey November 2007. Contact mary.burkey@gmail.com
