Summer Travel Entertainment: Audio Books! {8-12 years}

Every month, we receive a selection of books recommended by the Ottawa Public Library for children. This month, they've provided us with audio book suggestions in the spirit of the coming summer months and inevitable travel. These are for the 8-12 year olds in your life. Enjoy! *****

Dark Life by Kat Falls

A thrilling futuristic adventure set deep undersea, Dark Life follows the settlers of the world's first subsea settlement as they defend their homesteads against a brazen band of outlaws.

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

While visiting her father in hospital, thirteen-year-old Isla meets Harry, the first boy to understand her and her love of the outdoors. But Harry is ill, and as his health fails, Isla is determined to help him in the only way she knows how. Together they watch a lone swan struggling to fly on the lake outside Harry's window. Isla believes that if she can help the damaged swan, somehow she can help Harry. And in doing so, she embarks upon a breathtakingly magical journey of her own

Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach

It’s summer and the three Barker brothers—Simon, Henry, and Jack—just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There’s something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? Together with their new neighbor Delilah, the Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way.

One Dog and His Boy boy Eva Ibbotson

All Hal had ever wanted was a dog. "Never!" cries his mother. "Think of the mess, the scratch-marks, the puddles on the floor." But on the morning of Hal's 10th birthday, the unbelievable happens. He's allowed to choose a puppy at Easy Pets, a rent-a-pet agency (a fact his parents keep from him). The moment he sees the odd-looking terrier, he knows he's found a friend for life. But no one tells Hal that Fleck must be returned and when Hal wakes up on Monday morning, Fleck is gone. If dog and boy are to stay together they'll have to run away . . .

Scat by Carl Hiassen

Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.

Storm Runners by Roland Smith

Chase Masters and his father are "storm runners," racing across the country in pursuit of hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Anywhere bad weather strikes, they are not far behind. Chase is learning more on the road than he ever would just sitting in a classroom. But when the hurricane of the century hits, he will be tested in ways he never could have imagined.

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true.

The Resisters by Eric S. Nylund

Twelve-year-old Ethan Blackwood has always known exactly what he wanted—to win the state soccer championship, get into the best high school, and become an astronaut. Then he meets Madison and Felix. They claim that 50 years ago, aliens took over the earth, and everyone past puberty is under their mind control. Ethan doesn't believe it. But then he sees for himself the aliens' monster bug robots and the incredible way that Madison and Felix have learned to fight them. So Ethan Blackwood has a choice: he can go back to his normal, suburban, protected lie of a life—or he can become a Resister.

Troubletwisters by Garth Nix

Jaide and Jack Shield's lives are changing in a very, very strange way. The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they're around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house...from the inside. Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X--a relative they've never, ever met. At Grandma X's house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk.

Zoobreak by Gordon Korman

When Griffin Bing's class goes to a floating zoo, they don't expect to see animals being treated so badly. They don't expect to find Cleo, Dog Whisperer Savannah's pet monkey who's been missing for weeks. And they really don't expect to have to hide the animals once they've rescued them! Hilarity ensues as Griffin's team once more pulls off a heist...trying to break the animals back into a (better) zoo.

Are you planning any travel this summer? Do you children enjoy spending the time reading in the car?

*****

Thank you to Amanda Spargo at the Ruth E. Dickinson Branch of the Ottawa Public Library for this contribution to Kids in the Capital.