Listening Library : The best in children's publishing from BOOKS ON TAPE®

We Recommend:

Shop by Genre:

Shop by Category:

Shop by Award:

More Ways to Shop

School Information:

Online Services

Request a Catalog

Replacement Request

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I order?
How can I contact B-O-T?
What is your guarantee?

What is your return policy?

More FAQs

What do you think?

Send us an e-mail and let us know what you like and don't like about our new website. We want to hear from you!

Existing Customer? Log In. New Customer? Click here.

Top Ten Educational Benefits of Audiobook Listening
by Pam Spencer Holley
Past President, YALSA (ALA's Young Adult Library Service Association)

Look around. Teens everywhere seem to have headphones on or in their ears. This fact, together with studies showing a positive correlation between listening to audiobooks and reading improvement, is leading teachers and librarians to use audiobooks in their classrooms and libraries. With this increase in audiobook usage, I reviewed the literature (various articles, presentations, and conversations) to compile a list of the reasons why teen listening is important, beyond just the enjoyment factor. Here is that list:

10. Removes any stigma of lower reading levels or "uncool" genres

9.    Increases vocabulary skills

8.    Improves speaking and writing skills

7.    Introduces storytelling, an important tradition in human history

6.    Engages imagination by allowing students to create mental images of the story

5.    Improves listening skills — essential in this multimedia world

4.    Makes mundane yet necessary tasks (exercising, dishwashing, room cleaning) more tolerable

3.    Keeps students informed of popular books or latest releases from favorite authors

2.    Improves ability to multi-task and complete assignments simultaneously

1.    Listening is an important step for becoming a life-long reader

Pam's Pointers for Increasing Listening in Your School
by Pam Spencer Holley
Past President, YALSA (ALA's Young Adult Library Service Association)

Ensure that a varied collection of audiobooks is available, from titles on school reading lists to the latest works of middle grade, YA and adult authors

Have the necessary listening equipment available for checkout — CD players, MP-3 players, Playaways

Subscribe to a service that offers digital downloads to patrons and students
(i.e. NetLibrary)

Set aside areas for joint or shared listening

Allow listening to an audiobook as an acceptable basis for a book report, perhaps even letting students record their reports

Highlight narrators by organizing a display or providing listening opportunities to the stars of the audiobook industry

Build your collection with award-winning audiobooks selected by these ALA committees: the ALSC Notable Children's Recordings and YALSA Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults

Share reviews so students understand the qualities that make a good audiobook production

Suggest audiobooks that will further classwork, such as biographies of authors or historians, works about major events in American history, or titles recorded in a foreign language

Let students see you listening as you walk to lunch, work in your office, or head to a school event

"Teachers have told me that even their best readers have become better at reading aloud thanks to listening to audiobooks in class. They learn different styles of storytelling and read and narrate with increased enthusiasm and accuracy of voice and inflections."

—Stephanie Squicciarini, Teen Services Librarian, NY

Did You Know?

Learn why teachers order direct from Books on Tape

See an error or omission on this page? Contact us.

BOOKS ON TAPE®, B-O-T® and BOOKS ON CD® are registered trademarks and service marks of Books on Tape, A Division of Random House, Inc.
"Audiobooks" is the generic term for recordings of best-sellers on cassette.
contact us | more trademark information