'I Stopped Asking Him to Read. I Put the Audiobook On. Everything Changed.'

 

Why listening might be the bridge your reluctant reader has been waiting for.

There’s a moment most parents of reluctant readers know well.

You’ve found a book that looks right. The right age. The right length. Maybe even the right subject. You put it on their bed, or leave it on the kitchen table, or suggest it quietly at bedtime. And nothing happens. It sits there. Untouched. After a week it ends up under something else.

It’s not defiance. It’s not laziness. For a lot of children, the barrier isn’t the story. It’s the page itself.

And once I understood that I did something I hadn’t done before. I made an audiobook.

The Audition My Daughter Ran

Finding the right voice for The Viking’s Apprentice mattered more to me than almost anything else about the production. These are children’s books. The voice had to be right for children.

So, I did something simple. Several voice artists auditioned for the role. My daughter was eight years old at the time. I sat her down and let her listen to each one in turn.

I watched her face.

One of them made her look up from what she was doing. Her eyes went wide. She leaned in slightly, the way children do when something has caught them completely. That was Danielle Cohen. She got the job.

Because here’s the thing. I could have made that decision myself. But the books aren’t for me. They’re for the children. So, the children should decide.

Danielle brings every character in the story to life in a way I couldn’t have scripted. Peter, George, Charlotte, Granddad and even the monsters! Each one distinct. Each one real. When I listened back to the finished recording, I heard my own characters in a way I hadn’t before. That told me we’d got it right.

What Happens When You Remove the Page

For some reluctant readers, the problem with books is specifically the act of reading. The decoding. The effort of moving along a line of text and converting it into meaning. That process, for some children, is hard enough that it gets in the way of the story. They spend so much energy on the words that the world never quite opens up.

Take the page away and something different happens.

The story arrives whole. The characters sound like people. The pace is set for them. And suddenly they’re not working at a book. They’re living in one.

This is what parents have been telling me since the audiobook came out. One mother got in touch to say something that’s stayed with me: “The audiobook opened up a new world for my child, and they then wanted to read all the books.”

That one sentence is everything. Not instead of reading. And then they wanted to read. The audiobook didn’t replace the books. It became the door.

Listening Is Not Cheating

I want to say this clearly, because I know some parents worry about it.

Letting your child listen to an audiobook is not taking the easy way out. It is not avoiding reading. For a reluctant reader, it is often the single most effective thing you can do.

When a child hears a story and loves it, they want more of it. They want to go back. They want to hold the book and find the parts they remember. They want to see what comes next before the next listening session. They start to read not because someone asked them to, but because the story pulled them in through a different door and now they can’t leave.

That’s not a workaround. That’s how reading starts for a lot of children.

If Your Child Won’t Pick Up the Book

Put the audiobook on instead. On a car journey. At bedtime. On a rainy afternoon when the screens are off. Let them listen with their eyes closed if they want to. Let them do something quiet with their hands while Danielle tells them the story.

And then watch.

You might be surprised what happens next.

The Viking’s Apprentice audiobook is available now on Audible. If your child would like a no-pressure way in, the free Viking Quest Kit — a map, an exclusive short story, colouring sheets and the first chapter — is waiting for them whenever they’re ready. Download the Free Viking Quest Kit

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is listening to an audiobook as good as reading?

For reluctant readers, audiobooks can be more than as good — they can be the thing that makes reading happen at all. When a child hears a story they love, they often want to go back to the book. Listening and reading work together, not against each other.

Q: My child will listen to audiobooks but still won’t read. Is that okay?

Yes. Keep going. The story is getting in. The characters are becoming real to them. That’s the foundation. For many children, the desire to read the book follows the audiobook naturally, in its own time. Don’t force it. Let the story do the work.

Q: Where can I find The Viking’s Apprentice audiobook?

You can find it on Audible. Click here for The Viking’s Apprentice by Kevin McLeod.

Q: Who narrates The Viking’s Apprentice audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Danielle Cohen, who was chosen for the role by an eight-year-old. The brief was simple: which voice makes a child lean in and want to hear what happens next? Danielle was the answer.