The Mabel's Fables BE A GOOD LISTENER Booklist for ages 8 to 10
In Mabel's Fables Bookstore, we consider our second floor – our middle grade collection – a treasure trove of some of the greatest books ever written. Many of these novels are important to know and experience – some are just brilliant and fun- and a real pleasure to hear – for all of the family!
Coraline
By Neil Gaiman
Narrated by Neil Gaiman / 3 hours 36 minutes
In Coraline's family's new flat there's a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall—until Coraline unlocks the door . . . and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.
Only different.
The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there's another mother and father there who want... Read more »
Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning
A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book #1
By Lemony Snicket
Narrated by Tim Curry / 2 hours 29 minutes
NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
Like a car alarm, bagpipe music, or a doorbell ringing in the middle of the night, hearing this audio edition of The Bad Beginning will only upset you. This unique multi-voice recording brings the first book in Lemony Snicket's alarming A Series of Unfortunate Events to such terrible life that no one should really... Read more »
The One and Only Ivan
By Katherine Applegate
Narrated by Adam Grupper / 3 hours 45 minutes
Soon to be a major motion picture!
Winner of the Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller
This stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendships. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this novel is told from the point of view of... Read more »
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A Boy Called Bat
By Elana K. Arnold
Narrated by Patrick Lawlor / 2 hours 27 minutes
The first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum, from acclaimed author Elana K. Arnold and with illustrations by Charles Santoso.
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today,... Read more »
Because of Winn-Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo
Narrated by Cherry Jones / 2 hours 28 minutes
A classic tale by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, America’s beloved storyteller.
One summer’s day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries—and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It’s because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it’s because of Winn-Dixie that she... Read more »
The Penderwicks
A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
The Penderwicks: Book #1
By Jeanne Birdsall
Narrated by Susan Denaker / 6 hours 43 minutes
The Penderwicks
“Winner of the National Book Award, the first story takes place in Arundel, Maine, where the Penderwicks go for their summer vacation. Their normal vacation spot is booked, so they rent a small cottage on the property of a large house. Before you know it, the four sisters are up to their noses in adventures involving, at times, rabbits, the boy next door (friend or foe?), their dog Hound, a bull, the gardener, the cook, and more. It’s an unforgettable summer for the entire family, and an unforgettable lifetime of equally compelling adventures throughout the five books in the series. A classic for a new generation of readers, perfect for all family read-alouds or reading alone for ages 8+.”
BrocheAroe, River Dog Book Co.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
By L. Frank Baum
Narrated by Brooke Shields & Paul Rudd / 4 hours 15 minutes
More than a century after L. Frank Baum first released this magical tale of a young girl, Brooke Shields entrances a new generation of young listeners with her narration of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy thinks she is lost forever when a terrifying tornado crashes through Kansas and whisks her
and her dog, Toto, far away to the magical land... Read more »
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Wolves Chronicles Series
By Joan Aiken
Narrated by Lizza Aiken / 4 hours 48 minutes
Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a... Read more »
Bud, Not Buddy
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Narrated by James Avery / 5 hours 15 minutes
Hit the road with Bud in this Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy on a journey to find his father—from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963, a Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree.
It’s 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a... Read more »
Hatchet
By Gary Paulsen
Narrated by Peter Coyote / 3 hours 41 minutes
13-year-old Brian Robeson learns to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed with his hatchet and resourcefulness. Read more »
Charlotte's Web
By E. B. White
Narrated by E. B. White / 3 hours 34 minutes
This Newbery Honor Book by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children's literature that is "just about perfect."
Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply... Read more »
The Iron Man
By Ted Hughes
Narrated by Ted Hughes / 1 hour 15 minutes
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the bestselling classic by Ted Hughes, a new release of the compelling, unabridged, reading by the author.
The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff.
Where had he come from? Nobody knows.
How was he made? Nobody knows.
Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man... Read more »
The Trumpet of the Swan
By E. B. White
Narrated by E. B. White / 4 hours 23 minutes
The Trumpet of the Swan
“White's third novel for children may not be as thoroughly enshrined as his first two (Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web), but in our house it's the most beloved, thanks to the audiobook, read by White himself in his dry, Down East style that brings out every bit of wry drollery in his words, especially those spoken by the "old cob." Happily, the Libro.fm page for the audiobook includes a three-minute sample that gives you the flavor of White's narration and includes one of our very favorite (and often repeated) quotes from the old cob, "I did not travel all this immense distance into the heart of Canada to be observed." Listen and enjoy. (Age 5 and up)”
Tom, Phinney Books
Half Magic
By Edward Eager
Narrated by Full Cast / 3 hours 30 minutes
Beloved by children (and the parents lucky enough to share it with them) since it was first published in 1954, Half Magic is the uproarious tale of four siblings who discover a charm that grants exactly half of whatever they wish for--with results that are twice as predictable (and hilarious) as you might expect.
Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha... Read more »
Stargirl Movie Tie-In Edition
Stargirl Series
By Jerry Spinelli
Narrated by John H. Ritter / 4 hours 24 minutes
This beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+!
A modern-day classic and New York Times bestseller from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli.
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart... Read more »
The Prydain Chronicles Book One: The Book of Three
The Chronicles of Prydain: Book #1
By Lloyd Alexander
Narrated by James Langton / 5 hours 3 minutes
Taran dreams of adventure, but nothing exciting ever happens to an Assistant Pig-Keeper--until his pig runs away. A chase through the woods leads Taran far from home and into great danger, for evil prowls the land of Prydain. With a collection of strange and wonderful friends whom he meets on his journey, Taran finds himself fighting so that... Read more »
Matilda
By Roald Dahl
Narrated by Kate Winslet / 4 hours 18 minutes
“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print.” –The New York Times
“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda!
Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to... Read more »
Tuck Everlasting
By Natalie Babbitt
Narrated by Peter Thomas / 3 hours 31 minutes
When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles upon the Tuck family's disturbing secret, she is forced to come to terms with her conflicting emotions. She feels drawn to the loving, gentle and rather eccentric Tucks, but what they tell her is too incredible to be believed. Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring,... Read more »
The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Emily Windsnap
By Liz Kessler
Narrated by Finty Williams / 4 hours 35 minutes
For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat. And, oddly enough, for just as long as her mother has seemed anxious to keep Emily away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery--about her own identity, the mysterious father she's never... Read more »
The Wild Robot
The Wild Robot: Book #1
By Peter Brown
Narrated by Kate Atwater / 4 hours 14 minutes
The Wild Robot
“Super heart warming tale of a robot, named Roz, shipwrecked on an island. She is faced with adapting and learning to survive in her new home. Roz teaches perseverance and how kindness in the face of adversity CAN create meaningful relationships. As the listener we learn that families come in all shapes and sizes, and how it can be hard to be the newcomer in a community. A pleasure to listen to!”
Emma, Content