AudibleKids (www.audiblekids.com)
© 2008 Audible Books
AudibleKids (www.audiblekids.com) is a collection of 4000 audio books, such as Caps for Sale, Charlotte's Web and Green Eggs and Ham, that is trying to be more than just another online book store. There's a parents-help-parents element to it, with star ratings and reviews like "if you want to go to sleep, get this one" or "listening to 'Caps for Sale' reminded me of books I read as a kid." You can click any book cover to get a sample, which, in some cases plays the entire book. You can also search by keyword (for example, typing "Hardy" locates the Hardy Boys books), or use age or subject headings to find a book on animals for your 13-year-old daughter's iPod. Note that the books range greatly in price, from $1 to $50 and up for classics like War and Peace; something to consider before you let children loose on this site, unsupervised. Now that the kids have the hardware, with services like this, it's getting easier to mix some tracks of classic literature in between the tunes.
$185, Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site
Teaches: reading, stories, listening, language