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The Joy of Listening

November 2, 2014 by admin

IMG_8618_2Our Bluey adores audiobooks.  He has a solid collection of classics, modern fiction, history, and poetry on tape.  Most of these we’ve picked up at book sales and garage sales.  As his interest in audiobooks has grown, we keep an eye out for new stock when we are out and about.

We’ve managed to find for Bluey books that he knows well- like several of the Ramona (by Beverly Cleary) series as well as new discoveries- like a reading of American history that he really enjoys.  (As libraries shift to digital content for audio books, many are shedding their collection of cassette books.  So keep your eye out for these sales!)

Having books on tape allows Bluey to have further control over what books he’s experiencing at any given point.   It gives him a chance to relisten to his favorite parts as often as he likes.  And his audio books give him the opportunity to hear a different voice from his parents- a voice that might pronounce some words differently, or add emphasis in unexpected places.

Bluey’s tapes on foreign languages help prepare him for using more advanced self-study tools including mp3s and podcasts.  And hearing a language spoken out loud is an essential part in mastering it.

Bluey usually plays his tapes on a very old, very beat up Fisher-Price tape recorder.  It still works perfectly and has been handed down from his oldest sister.  The cassette player allows Bluey to transport his books with him from room to room, or even into the car.IMG_8619

The discovery and now love of cassette tapes also has allowed Bluey to explore new technologies.  He’s learned to work the tape deck on the stereo system we have in our playroom.  He’s learned to how to rewind tapes that get spun out of the cassette, and the related importance of not getting the tapes tangled.

Best of all, audiobooks are helping move our Bluey along on the path to becoming a full-on, independent reader.  As he fine tunes his notions of when and where he reads, and chooses the book he’s most interested in at that moment, Bluey carves his own path in literacy.


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