Over the summer, my boy and I listened to Jukebox Joyride while riding in the car together. He’s 12, and not all of the audiobooks I get are really appropriate for that age. Audible gives it’s members two free Audible Originals every month, and this was one of the choices.
Jukebox Joyride is an adorable trek through music history. George and his sister Jules live with their mom and love music. They used to live with their uncle too, but he disappeared a while back. Uncle Bob used to be an ethnomusicologist before he vanished.
It turns out, their Uncle Bob left them a magical music box that allows them to travel through time. The two kids travel to various time periods and get to experience music throughout history. They get to listen to early Jazz in New Orleans, meet Mozart as a child, and get to listen to music at an old medicine show. It’s a lot of fun.
Not everything is happy though. They are in danger, and so is their Uncle Bob. Will they be able to save their uncle, as well as music history? You’ll have to listen to this adorable story to find out.
Jukebox Joyride is a great middle grade book to listen to with your kids. Not only is it a lot of fun, but it’s also educational. They’ll get to listen to different styles of music in history and learn about different historical eras. They’ll get to learn more about Mozart (even Nannerl, who is the main character in Marie Lu’s Kingdom of Back, shows up in that part of the story). Even though it’s educational, there’s a lot of excitement, so it doesn’t make learning a chore.
I highly recommend Jukebox Joyride for middle grade readers, especially if you have long car rides with them. Or if you like middle grade books and have times when you listen to audiobooks. It’s no longer the free Audible selection, but the price is reasonable. Don’t waste your Audible credit on this one; it’s about $5, and unless you have a really cheap way to get them, it’s cheaper to buy it than use a credit.