The best young listeners audiobooks, by award record: every Audie Young Listeners winner

Looking for a young listeners audiobook that's actually worth a credit? This is the complete record of the Audie Award's Young Listeners category — 25 winners from 2001 to 2026, the audiobook industry's own pick for the best young listeners production of each year. The most recent winner is Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon, narrated by Kate McKinnon, Emily Lynne.

Last verified 2026-06-10 · Source: Wikipedia + APA

Year	Narrator	Audiobook	Author
2026	Kate McKinnon, Emily Lynne	Secrets of the Purple Pearl	Kate McKinnon
2025	Fred Berman	Nothing: John Cage and 4'33"	Nicholas Day
2024	Fairuza Balk, Jon Klassen	The Skull	Jon Klassen
2023	Tyler Merritt	A Door Made for Me	Tyler Merritt
2022	Jaime Lincoln Smith, Tony Medina	I and I Bob Marley	Tony Medina
2021	Shayna Small, Dion Graham	The Overground Railroad	Lesa Cline-Ransome
2020	Mo Willems	The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!	Mo Willems
2018	Dion Graham	Trombone Shorty	Troy Andrews
2017	Dion Graham, William Jackson Harper, Zainab Jah, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, Lizan Mitchell, Jonathan Earl Peck, Carter Woodson Redwood	28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World	Charles R. Smith, Jr.
2016	Jack Black	Little Shop of Monsters	R. L. Stine and Marc Brown
2015	Christopher Myers, Dion Graham	H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination	Christopher Myers
2014	Mutiyat Ade-Salu	Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!	Atinuke
2013	Adjoa Andoh	The Great Cake Mystery	Alexander McCall Smith
2012	George Guidall	Django, World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist	Bonnie Christensen
2011	James D-Train Williams	This Jazz Man	Karen Ehrhardt
2010	Barbara Rosenblat	Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken	Kate DiCamillo
2009	Jim Dale	James Herriot's Treasury for Children	James Herriot
2008	Stephen Fry	More About Paddington	Michael Bond
2007	Mo Willems, Cher, Trixie Willems	Knuffle Bunny	Mo Willems
2006	Michael McKean, Diana Canova, David de Vries, full cast	Arnie the Doughnut	Laurie Keller
2005	Mordicai Gerstein	What Charlie Heard	Mordicai Gerstein
2004	Luis Guzman	Chato and the Party Animals	Gary Soto
2003	Charles Turner	The Blues of Flats Brown	Walter Dean Myers
2002	Jenny Agutter	Ballet Stories	David Angus
2001	Martin Jarvis	Ouch!	Natalie Babbitt

Most-awarded young listeners narrators

Dion Graham (4 wins) · Mo Willems (2 wins).

Most-awarded young listeners authors

Mo Willems (2 wins).

Every Audie Young Listeners finalist (the full nominee record)

The Audie Young Listeners category names finalists alongside each winner. These 103 audiobooks were nominated but didn't win — also sourced; each title's full record is in the A–Z index.

Year	Finalist	Author	Narrator(s)
2026	Benny on the Case	Wesley King	P. J. Ochlan
2026	How the Word Is Passed	Clint Smith, Sonja Cherry-Paul	Clint Smith
2026	Pajammin'	Ziggy Marley	Ziggy Marley
2026	Prince Among Slaves	N. H. Senzai	Junior Nyong'o, N. H. Senzai
2025	Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King	Coretta Scott King	January LaVoy
2025	I Am My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams	Tanisia Moore	Nile Bullock
2025	Millie Fleur's Poison Garden	Christy Mandin	Elizabeth Knowelden
2024	Carina Felina	Carmen Agra Deedy	Carmen Agra Deedy
2024	I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know	Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson	Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson
2024	There Was a Party for Langston	Jason Reynolds	Jason Reynolds
2024	Twelve Dinging Doorbells	Tameka Fryer Brown	January LaVoy
2023	Our Table	Peter H. Reynolds	Peter H. Reynolds
2023	Patchwork	Matt de la Peña	Philip Hernandez, Catherine Ho, Dion Graham, Finlay Stevenson, Arischa Conner, Sunil Malhotra
2023	When Grandfather Flew	Patricia MacLachlan	Katie Schorr, George Guidall
2023	Where Snow Angels Go	Maggie O'Farrell	Ruth Negga
2022	Boogie Boogie, Y'all	C. G. Esperanza	C. G. Esperanza
2022	Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen	Debbi Michiko Florence	Allison Hiroto
2022	Remember to Dream, Ebere	Cynthia Erivo	Cynthia Erivo
2022	The Couch Potato	Jory John	Kirby Heyborne
2021	Going Down Home with Daddy	Kelly Starling Lyons	Daxton Edwards
2021	Rise! From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou	Bethany Hegedus	Cherise Boothe
2021	Say Something	Peter H. Reynolds	Peter H. Reynolds
2021	Stuck	Chris Grabenstein	Mark Sanderlin, Elizabeth Hess, Oliver Wyman, Farah Bala, Rita Wolf, Caroline Grogan, Cynthia Darlow, Mateo D'Amato, J.J. Myers, Neil Hellegers, Genesis Oliver, Chris Grabenstein
2021	The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley and Friends	Sesame Workshop	Lindsey Briggs, Tyler Bunch, Ryan Dillon, full cast
2020	How to Read a Book	Kwame Alexander	Kwame Alexander
2020	Rumple Buttercup	Matthew Gray Gubler	Matthew Gray Gubler
2020	The Lion King	Elizabeth Rudnick, Disney Press	Janina Edwards
2020	The Word Collector	Peter H. Reynolds	Guy Lockard
2020	We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga	Traci Sorell	Lauren Hummingbird, Agalisiga "Choogie" Mackey, Ryan Mackey, Traci Sorell, Tonia Weavel
2018	A Sick Day for Amos McGee	Philip C. Stead	Jim Dale
2018	Mother Bruce	Ryan T. Higgins	Robertson Dean
2018	Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day	Andrea Davis Pinkney	Channie Waites
2018	Princess Cora and the Crocodile	Laura Amy Schlitz	Davina Porter
2017	Island Treasures: Growing Up in Cuba	Alma Flor Ada	Trini Alvarado
2017	The Quentin Blake and John Yeoman Collection	Quentin Blake, John Yeoman	Stephen Thorne
2017	The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots	Beatrix Potter	Helen Mirren
2017	The Wooden Prince	John Claude Bemis	Ralph Lister
2017	Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer	Carole Boston Weatherford	Janina Edwards
2016	Appleblossom the Possum	Holly Goldberg Sloan	Dustin Hoffman
2016	Brother Hugo and the Bear	Katy Beebe, S. D. Schindler	Gildart Jackson
2016	Dory Fantasmagory	Abby Hanlon	Suzy Jackson
2016	Niño Wrestles the World	Yuyi Morales	Adriana Sananes
2016	The Eloise Collection	Kay Thompson	Bernadette Peters
2015	Deep in the Swamp	Donna M. Bateman	Tom Chapin
2015	Follow, Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems	Marilyn Singer	Marilyn Singer, Joe Morton
2015	Josephine	Patricia Hruby Powell	Lizan Mitchell
2015	This Is Not My Hat	Jon Klassen	John Keating
2015	Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter	Beatrix Potter	Katherine Kellgren
2014	Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake	Michael B. Kaplan	Katherine Kellgren
2014	Creepy Carrots!	Aaron Reynolds	James Naughton
2014	Nelson Mandela	Kadir Nelson	Forest Whitaker
2014	Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout	Megan McDonald	Barbara Rosenblat
2014	The Dark	Lemony Snicket	Neil Gaiman
2013	A Sick Day for Amos McGee	Philip C. Stead, Erin Stead	David de Vries
2013	Knuffle Bunny Free	Mo Willems	Mo Willems
2013	Sylvester and the Magic Pebble	William Steig	James Earl Jones
2013	We Are America	Walter Dean Myers	MacLeod Andrews, Olivia Duford, Dion Graham, Lizan Mitchell, Christopher Myers, Walter Dean Myers, Johanna Parker, Adriana Sananes, Kaipo Schwab
2012	Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson	Charles R. Smith, Jr.	Dion Graham
2012	Looking Like Me	Walter Dean Myers	Dion Graham, Quincy Tyler Bernstine
2012	Stone Soup	Jon J. Muth	B. D. Wong
2012	Wolf Pie	Brenda Seabrooke	Andrew Watts
2011	Despicable Me	Annie Auerbach	Tim Curry
2011	Epossumondas Plays Possum	Coleen Salley	Cynthia Darlow
2011	Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday	Megan McDonald	Barbara Rosenblat
2011	One Beastly Beast	Garth Nix	Stig Wemyss
2010	A Dog on His Own	Mary Jane Auch	William Dufris
2010	Arabel's Raven	Joan Aiken	Sneha Mathan
2010	Friend or Fiend?: With the Pain and the Great One	Judy Blume	Kathleen McInerney, Judy Blume
2010	Knuffle Bunny Too	Mo Willems	Mo Willems, Trixie Willems
2009	Do Unto Otters	Laurie Keller	Jack Sundrud, Galen Fott, Rusty Young, David de Vries, Diana Canova, et al.
2009	Hip Hop Speaks to Children	Nikki Giovanni	Nikki Giovanni
2009	The Shoe Bird	Samuel Jones	Jim Dale
2009	What Do You Do with a Kangaroo?	Mercer Mayer	Jane Casserly
2008	Goodnight Hawaiian Moon	Terry Carolan	Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom
2008	In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden	Jack Prelutsky	Jack Prelutsky
2008	Ogre in a Toga	Geoffrey McSkimming	Geoffrey McSkimming
2008	The One and Only Shrek!	William Steig	Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci
2007	Dog Den Mystery	Darrel and Sally Odgers	Alan King
2007	Murmel Murmel Munsch!	Robert Munsch	Robert Munsch
2007	Piccolo and Annabelle: Very Messy Inspection	Stephen Axelson	Stanley McGeagh
2007	Poetry Speaks to Children	Elise Paschen	Rita Dove, Ogden Nash, et al.
2006	A Bear Called Paddington	Michael Bond	Stephen Fry
2006	Blues Journey	Walter Dean Myers	Walter Dean Myers, Christopher Myers
2006	Ellen Tebbits	Beverly Cleary	Amanda Martin
2006	The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!	R. L. Stine	Michael McKean
2006	The Great Smelling Bee	R. L. Stine	Michael McKean
2005	Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House	Geronimo Stilton	Edward Herrmann
2005	I Stink!	Kate and Jim McMullan	Andy Richter
2005	Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye and The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid	Geronimo Stilton	Edward Herrmann
2005	The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection	Neil Gaiman	Neil Gaiman
2005	When Marian Sang	Pam Muñoz Ryan	Gail Nelson
2004	Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa	Andrea Davis Pinkney, Brian Pinkney	Billy Dee Williams
2004	Green Eggs and Ham	Dr. Seuss	Jason Alexander, David Hyde Pierce, Michael McKean
2004	Raising Sweetness	Diane Stanley	Tom Bodett
2004	The Tale of Despereaux	Kate DiCamillo	Graeme Malcolm
2003	In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall	Folami Abiade and Dinah Johnson	Javaka Steptoe, Robin Miles, Charles Turner, Lizan Mitchell
2003	John Coltrane's Giant Steps	Chris Raschka	Richard Allen
2003	Saving Sweetness	Diane Stanley	Tom Bodett
2003	Sheila Rae, the Brave	Kevin Henkes	Laura Hamilton
2002	Joseph Had a Little Overcoat	Simms Taback	Simms Taback
2002	The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses	Paul Goble	Lance White Magpie
2001	Charlie Parker Played Be Bop	Chris Raschka	Richard Allen
2001	The Polar Express	Chris Van Allsburg	Liam Neeson

See also: Audiobook of the Year · Best Narrator winners · Grammy audiobook winners.