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