It looks like Audible, the online audiobook download giant, is up to something good. Its Audible Kids site looks pretty good. Lots of audiobooks listed, and even better, lots of samples.
Doubtless there are a few scolds out there who will find fault with this plan, claiming that "hooking" the kids with an audio clip--and inspiring them to want to buy the whole thing--is subjecting little Billy to the iron boot of the mass media or something. But hook away, I say. It's not like the site has embedded a few clips of "Joe Camel and the Seven Taste Buds." If it is seeking to cause any addiction, at least it's an addiction I would wish upon anyone. Even my own kids.
Admittedly, such views are self-serving, because if kids acquire the audiobook habit early, they're more likely to hang on to it later ... good for anyone of us in Audiobook Land. But it seems to me that opening up kids' minds to imagination and learning is equally good for them and (dare I say it?) society as a whole. Hey, all the kiddos are lost in their ear buds anyway. They might just as well groove to something thought-provoking and wholesome.
