Puffin Audiobooks: feedback for Magic & Adventure titles…find out what MNers think PLUS non testers - chance to win £75! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the 125 Mumsnetters and their DCs who listened to a Magic & Adventure audiobook. Testers could choose one of the following audiobook titles:

1. The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy read by Gemma Arterton (age 5+)
2. Going Solo by Roald Dahl ready by Dan Stevens (age 7+)
3. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll read by Sheridan Smith (6+)
4. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham - BBC dramatization version (age 6+)
5. George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy & Stephen Hawking ready by James Goode (age 7+)

To listen a clip from each of these audiobooks click here

Puffin say "We are absolutely delighted to have so many eager ears listening to our marvellous audiobooks this summer and taking part in our Audiobook Club
We believe that audiobooks are a brilliant way for families to share the laughter, thrill and excitement of a good story. Whether you listened just before bedtime or on those long and winding 'are-we-nearly-there-yet' car journeys.
All we ask is that you use the discussion threads to let us know what both you and your little ones, thought of the experience."

Non testers: Share on this thread what your favourite audiobook is and why and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £75 voucher for either iTunes or Amazon so you can buy audiobooks!

Testers: Puffin would love to know what you and your children thought by answering these questions:

1. How old is the child who took part?
2. Which audiobook did your DC choose?
3. What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook?
4. On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook?
5. What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? What did they like about it?
6. Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience?

We'd also like you to add a review of the audiobook on MN (using the links sent to you on email)

All testers who add feedback and post a review will be entered into a prize draw where two MNers will each win a £75 voucher from either iTunes or Amazon so you can buy audiobooks!

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ
Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Harry Potter because there are too many to read, not enough time

the lion the witch and the wardrobe, great for all ages.xx

1. How old is the child who took part?

My son is 9 years old but his older brother who is 13 also enjoyed this too!

2. Which audiobook did your DC choose?

'The Twits' by Roald Dahl. Even though both of my sons have read this book they love it and as they had no experience of audio books previously, they really enjoyed it as it was a whole different experience to a reading book.

3. What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook?

Anytime!. They listened to it in the evenings and also when relaxing in the afternoons in their bedroom.

4. On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook?

CD player.
5) What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? What did they like about it?

They absolutely loved it and said it was totally different to a reading book because of all the voices, sound effects etc.

6. Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience?

Yes definately!.

We love Dr Seuss audio books they are a great thing for the family to listen to whilst travelling

My favourite audio book would be The Man by Raymond Briggs, purely because I used to listen to it as a child (on a cassette tape!) And I can still remember parts of it word for word! I knew the title and author because I can hear it being read out

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

My favourite book from childhood - also my DD's favourite too.

Lord of the Rings - it can be a heavy read however when brought to life, the imaginative creativity that goes into the story is very much accentuated. The end result is magical, enchanting and a cracking storyline to boot with superb characterisation

non tester
we love anything by Roald Dahl, but my favrite is The Witches. It's so funny.

I'm not sure if this counts because it's a selection of poetry and not a book, but Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes audio is really amazing. They just love it, and the voices are fantastic and evil!

My favourite audiobook is To Kill A Mockingbird. This is one of my favourite books and I love to have it read to me.

Harry potter read by stephen fry! Im always listening to them, very relaxing!

Our favourite audio books are all the Roald Dahl stories. Guaranteed to entertain all the family on car journeys and at bed time.

many thanks for this. We were very pleased to be picked.

1. How old is the child who took part? 6
2. Which audiobook did your DC choose? The Worst Witch
3. What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook? She started listening to it in her bedroom the afternoon it arrived. However, we were going away the next day, so we took it with us and listened to it in the car.
4. On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook? Home CD player and car CD player
5. What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? What did they like about it? She liked it. She enjoyed the story, all the children listened happily, and at the end my daughter asked for it again. She enjoyed the story itself, the reader, who, and the opportunity to wind down whilst listening to a story.
6. Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience?

Yes.
I tried audiobooks in the car previously but the children are variably interested; I think some of it is getting the story right.

I had planned this as a wind down at bed time, and I will get more audiobooks both for car journeys and bed time.

Non Tester

Favourite audio book in our house is The Big Mog CD, five Mog stories by Judith Kerr, read by Andrew Sachs. All the kids enjoy it as they have been all three's bedtime favourites over the years.

Non-tester here - We don't have many audiobooks, but my children really like the Disney read-a-long ones. Will have to check out the Roald Dahl ones!

NON TESTER

I loved The Help by Kathryn Stockett, it was better in audio form as it really bought focus onto the story itself and added to it imaginatively, if that makes sense, my son is a massive fan of anything by David Walliams.

) How old is the child who took part? 5
2) Which audiobook did your DC choose? We chose the worst witch based on age suitability
3) What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook?
We have listened to it in the morning on longish journeys 4 times now.
4) On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook? Car's CD player
5) What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? I listened to it with them and as it had 10 chapters I thought it would be far too long but I was surprised both my 3 and 5 year old were able to tell me all about the story and my 5 year old asked lots of questions about what certain words meant. What did they like about it? They loved it, my 5 year old loved hearing all about Mildred's adventures at school and particularly loved the amount of description, how the witches looked and the funny things that happened. For me it was a book I read as a child so it was a lovely shared experience. My daughter particularly loved the way the teachers were described in great detail. I felt she was getting a real picture in her mind, as you should with a good book. She was enthralled.
6) Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience. Yes, we most definitely would and I wouldn't be afraid of books that are longer. I have only bought shorter audiobooks in the past. Longer books are perfect for car journeys.
Thank you.

Non-tester:

Harry potter - I liked it b/c it drew in into the characters and began caring for them on their journey thou their sch years, reminded me of my own sch days

1. Age of child - 6
2. Audiobook - Wind in the Willows
3. Afternoon
4. CD player
5. Loved the music and the atmosphere and the different voices
6. Yes

Non Tester-My children have only ever listened to Postman pat audio book on a long journey -I don't know why I haven't thought to get more -My younger two would really like it! I am away to read everyone else's recommendations now!

As a child I used to love listening to the Milly Molly Mandy series on cassette tape or the gobbolina the witches cat story!

Tester:

Hoping somebody can help me.... Does anybody know how to download (not stream) using an iPad? We didn't bring our laptop on holiday. .

Thanks so much for our audiobook of The Worst Witch.

1. How old is the child who took part?

6 and 3 (boy and girl)

2. Which audiobook did your DC choose?

The worst witch

3. What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook?

Late morning during a car journey - it was the perfect length, 1 hour!

4. On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook?

Car stereo
5) What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? What did they like about it?

They were both entranced by it - they listened closely and were really enthusiastic about it when it finished.

They both commented on different aspects of the story that has caught their imaginations.

6. Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience?

Definitely - the perfect way to pass time on a car journey.

Thanks again!

1. How old is the child who took part? He is 9.
2. Which audiobook did your DC choose? George's Secret Key
3. What time of day and where did your child listen to the audiobook? Daytime in the car, and at bedtime in his room.
4. On what device did your DC listen to the audiobook? Car CD player, and laptop.
5. What was your child’s overall impression of the experience? What did they like about it? He loved it, and he says "It was funny and mysterious". He also liked the fact that it was written by such an interesting author and wanted to google him.
6. Do you think you’d buy or look for more audiobooks in the future as a result of this experience? Yes, definitely. He enjoyed it, and it captured his attention more than I thought it would. He's a good reader anyway, but I'm trying to encourage him to read more fiction, and this his really helped.

Sorry, I meant to say thank you - it was a great product test for us.