CHILDREN'S audiobooks have gone from strength to strength. There was Philip Pullman narrating his prequel to His Dark Materials, Once Upon a Time in the North (Randomhouse, 2 CDs, £13/offer £12.35) and Stephen Fry completing J. K. Rowling's Potter saga with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Bloomsbury, 17 CDs, £75/£71.25).

Fry was also on top form narrating Michael Bond's A Bear Called Paddington (HarperCollins, 2CDs, £9.99/£9.49), and Andrew Sachs read Sally Gardner's footie fantasy The Boy With Lightning Feet (Orion, 1 CD, £5.99/£5.69) with his customary skill. Hurricane Gold (Penguin, 3 CDs, £12.99/£12.34) had Charlie Higson's young Bond getting his first taste of pirates in the Caribbean and falling for a daredevil nymphet; Higson himself narrated with panache.

Aesop's Fables (Naxos, 1 CD, £8.99/£8.54) has endured because of its wisdom and humour. Read exquisitely by Anton Lesser it is listening well suited to the moral tone of our thrifty times. Also full of useful skills, albeit those of hunting tribes 6,000 years ago, is Outcast (Orion, 6 CDs, £14.99/£14.24), the latest in Michelle Paver's gripping Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, which Ian McKellen narrates with consummate skill.

Lady Lamorna, the villainous sorcereress in Vivian French's The Robe of Skulls (Walker, 3 CDs, £12.99/ £12.33) is well up with Cruella De Vil when it comes to awful fashion sense. To pay for her haute couture black velvet robe trimmed with skulls and spiders' webs she turns all the princes of the five kingdoms into frogs. How Gracie Gillypot and Marcus, the only prince to escape, thwart her makes for an unstoppably ebullient tale redolent with fairy lore.

If you only buy one book this Christmas make sure it's...

Michael Parkinson, Sheila Hancock, Roger Moore, Elaine Paige and Andrew Castle pick out some perfect reading for the festive period

BACKGROUND

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Gifts

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Fiction

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Crime

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Biography and memoir

• Christmas bestsellers

BACKGROUND

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Art

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Food

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Music

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Travel

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Children's audiobooks

BACKGROUND

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Film & theatre

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Graphic Novels

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Back to basics

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Poetry

• The Times Christmas Books 2008: Children's 2-10

Finally, Rockford's Rock Opera (3 CDs, £24.99, download from www.rockfordsrockopera.com) is an amazing mix of story, songs and sound effects. It has a freshness that makes you smile as you listen and could become a cult favourite as beloved as Wallace and Gromit.

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