The popularity of audiobooks among young children and teenagers is on the rise with National Literacy Trust research showing for the first time that young people enjoy listening to books more than they do reading them.

Here are some of the best audiobooks on offer for kids and teens according to authors, critics and experts.

5-8 years

The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith, read by Stephen Thorne

The author Katherine Rundell describes Thorne’s rendition of King-Smith’s classic tale about a lone pig on a sheep farm as “one of the best ever matches of writer and reader”. It’s “a book that is worth adoring, and the reading salutes its warmth and wit and does justice to the perfection of its ending”. (Rundell’s Impossible Creatures, narrated by Samuel West, is also an enrapturing listen.)

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, read by David Tennant

Cowell’s series about a young Viking, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, is heartily narrated by the Doctor Who star. Tennant’s “gleeful commitment to the inhabitants of Berk took much of the terror out of traffic jams”, says the critic Imogen Russell Williams, whose child was keen on the series.

Meet the Maliks – Twin Detectives: The Cookie Culprit by Zanib Mian, read by Asmara Gabrielle

The charity Inclusive Books for Children recommends the audiobook version of the first instalment in Mian’s Meet the Maliks series, following the twins Maysa and Musa. When the cookies the siblings have made for a competition at their mosque are destroyed, they work together to find the culprit. Lasting just over two hours, Gabrielle’s vibrant narration is great for kids aged six to eight.

9-12 years

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, read by Gareth Armstrong

Armstrong’s narration of Ransome’s 95-year-old adventure tale is “down-to-earth, understated, humorous, got us through a sizeable chunk of lockdown,” says Russell Williams.

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan, read by Shala Nyx

This historical novel, set in Paris during the second world war, won the Jhalak children’s and young adult prize last May. When her father is arrested by Nazis for his involvement in the resistance, Safiyyah takes on his secret work, helping Jews escape to safety. Inclusive Books for Children recommends the audiobook version, in which Nyx unfolds Safiyyah’s story over eight hours, successfully capturing the suspense of her brave plight.

Teens

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, read in part by the author

This audiobook version of Pullman’s fantasy trilogy following Lyra Silvertongue through parallel universes is “brilliant”, says Rundell. “Pullman was a teacher before he was a writer, and you can hear in his voice the long practice of conjuring a world aloud for children.”

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, read by Tatiana Maslany

The Canadian actor Maslany rose to prominence playing multiple clones in the series Orphan Black. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the publication of The Hunger Games, the bestselling series about teenagers fighting to death, a special edition audiobook, narrated by Maslany, was announced. Her captivating reading also features a bonus track Q&A.