BBC Classics Children’s Library: A timeless collection of 21 tales for all ages

· · · · · · ·
· BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Joseph Ayre, Sam Dale, Carolyn Pickles, Kenny Blyth, Catherine Cusack, Tony Turner, Sarah Ovens, Shaun Mason, and Full cast
3.0
2 reviews
Audiobook
21 hr 56 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 9 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

An irresistible anthology of folklore, fables and perennial favourites, including four novels and 17 short stories

This superlative collection of children's stories brings together a feast of fantastic fiction, read in full by a host of top narrators and with a comprehensive track listing for ease of listening. Comprising everything from fairytales for little ones to thrilling adventures for pre-teens, these unabridged readings are ideal for families to keep, treasure and dip into as their children grow.

Listed by suggested age range and with track numbers provided, the stories are as follows:

Ages 4+
1-12 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (read by Carolyn Pickles)
13 Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (read by Jonny Holden)
14 The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm (read by Sam Dale)
15 Too Clever By Half by E Nesbit (read by Helen Capp)
16 Tom Thumb by the Brothers Grimm (read by Shaun Mason)

Ages 7+
17-25 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (read by Michael Bertenshaw)
26 How the Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling (read by Kenny Blyth)
27 The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen (read by Shaun Mason)
28 The Raspberry Worm by Zacharias Topelius (read by Debbie Korley)
29 The Tongue Cut Sparrow by Yei Theodora Ozaki (read by Sean Baker)
30 The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner)
31 The Magic Bed by Hartwell James (read by Chris Pavlo)
32 How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner)
33 The Tortoise and the Rain by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth)
34 The Baba Yaga by Katharine Pyle (read by Susan Jameson)

Ages 9+
35-41 The Call of the Wild by Jack London (read by Joseph Ayre)
42 Finn and the Scottish Giant by Harold F Hughes (read by Paul Hickey)
43 The Children's Joke by Louisa May Alcott (read by Catherine Cusack)
44 The Ants and the Treasure by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth)
45 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (read by Tony Turner)
46-59 The Railway Children by E Nesbit (read by Sarah Ovens)

Production credits
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 21 December 2018-1 November 2019

Produced by Simon Richardson (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Tortoise and the Rain, The Elephant's Child, The Ants and the Treasure, How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Camel Got His Hump, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Happy Prince), Karen Holden (The Wind in the Willows), Martha Littlehailes (The Call of the Wild), Anne Bunting (The Railway Children), Anne Isger (Too Clever By Half, The Tongue Cut Sparrow, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Children's Joke, Finn and the Scottish Giant) and Mabel Wright (Tom Thumb, The Raspberry Worm, The Magic Bed, The Baba Yaga, Peter Rabbit)
The Raspberry Worm edited by Andrew Lang


© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ratings and reviews

3.0
2 reviews
Gemma Harrison
September 8, 2023
really awful
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) were born in Hanau, Germany. The brothers were inseparable despite their differing temperaments: Jacob was introverted, serious and robust; Wilhelm was gregarious and asthmatic. They published the first of their many collections of fairy tales in 1812. The story that they wandered about Germany collecting their tales from the lips of peasants is a fairy tale itself. In fact, they invited educated middle class women into their home to tell them the stories they had heard from their governesses and servants. The point of their collection of folklore was to study the German language and they also did important work on the German dictionary. The stories were revised to be more appropriate for children in 1819 and were published under the title Children's and Household Tales. By the beginning of the twentieth century Children's and Household Tales was second only to the Bible in the German bestseller lists.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

More by Lewis Carroll

Similar audiobooks