Audiobooks for 5th to 8th Graders

Fever, 1793   by Laurie Halse Anderson
In 1793 Philadelphia, 16-year-old Matilda, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic. 5 hours, 46 minutes long

Chasing Vermeer   by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, 11-year-olds Petra and Calder try to solve an international art scandal.  4 hours 47 minutes long

Peter and the Starcatchers   by Dave Barry
Orphaned Peter sets sail from England on the ship Never Land and befriends Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate.  9 hours long

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sister, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy   by Jeanne Birdsall
While vacationing with their widowed father, four sisters share adventures with a young boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother. 6 hours 48 minutes long

The Supernaturalist   by Eoin.Colfer
In futuristic Satellite City, 14-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three people who share his ability to see supernatural creatures. Together they discover the purpose of the blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans. 6 hours, 42 minutes long - for listeners ages 9+

The Misadventures of Maude March, or, Trouble Rides a Fast Horse   by Audrey Couloumbis
After the death of the stern aunt who raised them, 11-year-old Sallie and her 15-year-old sister escape their self-serving guardians and begin an adventure resembling those in the dime novels Sallie loves to read. 8 hours, 12 minutes long – for listeners ages 10+

Heartbeat   by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant. Written in free verse.   2 hours, 30 minutes long

Bindi Babes   by Nharinder Dhami
Three Indian sisters, living in England with their widowed father, devise a plan to marry off their traditional auntie and get her out of their house. 4 hours, 21 minutes long

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread   by Kate DiCamillo
The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. 3 hours, 31 minutes, for listeners ages 9+

The Ruins of Gorlan   by John Flanagan
When 15-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger. 7 hours, 45 minutes long – for listeners ages 9+

Dragon Rider   by Cornelia Caroline Funke
After learning that humans are headed toward his hidden home, Firedrake, a silver dragon, is joined by a brownie and an orphan boy in a quest to find the legendary valley known as the Rim of Heaven, while struggling to evade the relentless pursuit of an old enemy. 12 hours long - for listeners ages 9+

Olive's Ocean   by Kevin Henkes
Over a summer vacation by the ocean, 12-year-old Martha begins to understand her grandmother, her connection to a classmate who has died, and herself. 2 hours 30 minutes long – for listeners in grades 5-8

Hoot   by Carl Hiaasen
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. 6 hours, 25 minutes long – for ages 10-15

Eagle Strike   by Anthony Horowitz   
Teenage spy Alex Rider investigates international pop star and philanthropist Damian Cray whose new video game venture hides sinister motives involving Air Force One, nuclear missiles, and the international drug trade.   (An Alex Rider Mystery)   6 hours, 45 minutes long –for listeners in grades 5-10

The Vacation   by Polly Horvath
Henry's parents head off to Africa to work as missionaries and Henry is left in the care of two eccentric aunts, Magnolia and Pigg. Their cross-country car trip gives Henry time to know himself and his family. 4 hours, 43 minutes long – for listeners in grades 6-9

Redwall   by Brain Jacques
Mattimeo and the other mice inhabitants of Redwall Abbey take up arms to defend their home against an invasion by evil rat Cluny and his co-horts. 10 hours, 43 minutes long – for listeners in grades 5 - 8

Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story   by Karen Levine
In 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan, marked “Hana Brady, May 16, 1931,” and "Waisenkind"--the German word for orphan. In a suspenseful journey, Fumiko, the center's curator, searches for clues to young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis. One disc – for listeners in grades 4 - 7

Mister Monday   by Garth Nix
Arthur's life is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock, but bizarre creatures from another realm are determined to take the key even if it means killing him.  (Keys to the Kingdom; book one)  8 hours, 30 minutes long – for listeners ages 9+

A Single Shard   by Linda Sue Park
Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself. 3 hours 12 minutes long - for listeners ages 10+

Hatchet   by Gary Paulsen
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is stranded in the Canadian wilderness as the sole survivor of a plane wreck. All he has to help him survive is a hatchet. 3 hours, 42 minutes long – for listeners ages 9+

The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts   by Richard Peck
In rural Indiana in 1904, fifteen-year-old Russell's dreams of quitting school and joining a wheat threshing crew are disrupted when his older sister takes over the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse after mean old Myrt Arbuckle "hauls off and dies.”  4 hours, 48 minutes long - for listeners ages 9+

The Golden Compass   by Philip Pullman
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subjects of gruesome experiments.  (His Dark Materials; book one)  10 hours, 43 minutes long – for listeners ages 10+

Holes   by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake to serve time for a crime he didn't commit. His punishment? Digging holes. 4 hours, 37 minutes long – for listeners ages 9+

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief   by Wendelin Van Draanen
Sammy picks up her grandmother's binoculars one afternoon and, looking into a room at the Heavenly Hotel, she witnesses a robbery. What is she to do now? 4 discs for listeners ages 10+

So B. It   by Sarah Weeks
After spending her life with her mentally disabled mother and agoraphobic neighbor, 12-year-old Heidi sets out alone from Reno, Nevada, to New York to uncover mysteries about her identity.  5 hours – for ages 10 - 14

Adam Canfield of the Slash   by Michael Winerip,
While serving as co-editors of their school newspaper, Adam and Jennifer uncover fraud and corruption in their school and in the city's government. 6 hours – for ages 8-12