Listening is a great way to experience a story.

Go to Guys Listen to check out more.

Here are some recommendations from some guys we trust.

Gordon Korman

Dan Gutman

Anything by Robert Benchley, Woody Allen, Mark Twain, Dave Barry, Roald Dahl, Robert Cormier, Jack Gantos, Peg Kehret, Gary Paulsen, Carl Hiassen, Andrew Clements, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Gordon Korman, Roland Smith, Anthony Horowitz, and some guy named Jon Scieszka.

  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret
  • Genius. The Sgt. Pepper of children's books.

  • Hatchet
  • Still the best survival story.

  • Ball Four
  • This is the book that turned me on to reading. For the first time, somebody wrote like they were having a conversation with me.

  • Yertle the Turtle
  • Or anything by Dr. Seuss. Can’t beat it.

  • Mad Magazine
  • Without it, all intelligent life on Earth would have ceased to exist.

Michael Buckley

  • The Outsiders
  • A timeless story of outcasts versus the privileged. Exciting and heartbreaking — Hinton should be applauded for understanding the mind of a guy so well.

  • All Star Superman Books 1 and 2
  • Lex Luthor finally finds a way to kill Superman and the Big Blue Boy Scout prepares for his death with a shocking ending no one could have seen.

  • Lord of the Flies
  • A ship full of children from an all boys' school crashes on the beach of a deserted island. Unfortunately, it isn't long before the kids stop working together and break up into tribes with dark and deadly results.

  • Pinocchio
  • Most people have seen the movie but few have read the book and that’s a shame. Pinocchio is a walking nightmare and hilarious.

  • The Graveyard Book
  • An adaptation of the Jungle Book but instead of a boy being raised by wolves, he's reared by ghosts in an abandoned cemetery. It's chilling and dark, yet a powerful lesson on how a boy becomes a man.

Mo Willems

  • The Complete Peanuts
  • Charles M. Schulz
  • The gold standard of comic strips. Fun for everyone; except Charlie Brown, who seems a little down on his luck.

  • The Complete George and Martha
  • James Marshall
  • Lessons learned include: just because you've got a best friend doesn't mean you have to pour pea soup in your shoes. I try to re-read this before I start making new book.

  • The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
  • Bill Watterson
  • When Hobbes is wise, Calvin is a stinker. When Hobbes is hungry, Calvin is in trouble.

  • Go, Dog, Go!
  • Philip D. Eastman
  • A dog party in a tree? Wait for me, I’ve got to get my hat!

  • Cul De Sac, This Exit
  • The best comic strip you've never heard of. Alice and her family walk in the footsteps of Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, only sideways.

  • Children at Play, A Cul-de-Sac Collection

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

  • Where The Wild Things Are
  • Three words: "The Wild Rumpus!" It doesn't get much better than that!

  • James and the Giant Peach
  • This book has everything — adventure, bugs . . . and a giant peach!

  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle
  • When I was a kid, I wished that I had a mouse who could ride a motorcycle. And now that I'm a grown-up, I still do!

  • The Chocolate Touch
  • I’m a huge chocolate fan, but this book sure made me think twice about what I wished for!

  • The Celery Stalks at Midnight, Bunnicula
  • A cute bunny that sucks vegetables dry? Yikes! These books kept me at the edge of my seat.

  • Fudge-a-mania
  • Start with a Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and read all the way through the books until you get to Double Fudge. These books are hysterical and relatable!