Hidden beneath the success of kids audiobooks is the fact that there is not a thriving environment for truly innovative audio programs, programs that focus not on reading, but on drama. How many of the audio releases this past year were full cast audio programs for kids? The answer is a tiny minority.

     The sheer number of kids audiobooks that are released each year is staggering, as more and more publishers push their existing product into this arena. Industry observers claim there is a revival of kids audio, pointing to rising sales of children's audio product, but this enthusiasm belies a misunderstanding of what is really going on in this marketplace, and the narrow focus of these observations on increasing sales of kids audiobooks does not include all other audio forms.

     The emphasis on reading is not unexpected, and the value of audiobooks on cds and mp3s is not questioned. Our concern is with the state of the art of kids audio: if the only commercially viable audio product for children is kids audiobooks, what does this say about our audio legacy? Once, radio drama provided stimulation for the imagination and a listening culture. Where are the audio-for-audio-sake artists who would seem to naturally flow from this radio legacy? Where are the audio rich stories told not by narrators reading books, but from actors playing roles, sounds and music setting environments?

     We all appreciate kids audiobooks as a valuable literary form. It's here to stay. Listening to a book being read is something we all understand.

     But here in Growlerville, we know that even though our products get put on the same shelf as all those kids audiobooks, there is a big difference between these two genres. Kids audiobooks are narrators reading books. Growler stories involve the listener in an audio virtual reality in the form of audiodrama.