Best of 2025_1

Podcast

What were the best books of 2025?

Lewis Carroll

Kenneth Grahame

E Nesbit

Rudyard Kipling

The Brothers Grimm

Hans Christian Andersen

Louisa May Alcott

Oscar Wilde

Joseph Ayre

Sam Dale

Carolyn Pickles

Kenny Blyth

Catherine Cusack

Tony Turner

Sarah Ovens

Shaun Mason

Full cast

A timeless collection of 21 tales for all ages

An irresistible anthology of folklore, fables and perennial favourites, including four novels and 17 short stories 
 
This superlative collection of children's stories brings together a feast of fantastic fiction, read in full by a host of top narrators and with a comprehensive track listing for ease of listening. Comprising everything from fairytales for little ones to thrilling adventures for pre-teens, these unabridged readings are ideal for families to keep, treasure and dip into as their children grow. 
 
Listed by suggested age range and with track numbers provided, the stories are as follows: 
 
Ages 4+ 
1-12 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (read by Carolyn Pickles) 
13 Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (read by Jonny Holden) 
14 The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm (read by Sam Dale) 
15 Too Clever By Half by E Nesbit (read by Helen Capp) 
16 Tom Thumb by the Brothers Grimm (read by Shaun Mason) 
 
Ages 7+ 
17-25 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (read by Michael Bertenshaw) 
26 How the Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling (read by Kenny Blyth) 
27 The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen (read by Shaun Mason) 
28 The Raspberry Worm by Zacharias Topelius (read by Debbie Korley) 
29 The Tongue Cut Sparrow by Yei Theodora Ozaki (read by Sean Baker) 
30 The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner) 
31 The Magic Bed by Hartwell James (read by Chris Pavlo) 
32 How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner) 
33 The Tortoise and the Rain by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth) 
34 The Baba Yaga by Katharine Pyle (read by Susan Jameson) 
 
Ages 9+ 
35-41 The Call of the Wild by Jack London (read by Joseph Ayre) 
42 Finn and the Scottish Giant by Harold F Hughes (read by Paul Hickey) 
43 The Children's Joke by Louisa May Alcott (read by Catherine Cusack) 
44 The Ants and the Treasure by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth) 
45 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (read by Tony Turner) 
46-59 The Railway Children by E Nesbit (read by Sarah Ovens) 
 
Production credits 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 21 December 2018-1 November 2019 
 
Produced by Simon Richardson (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Tortoise and the Rain, The Elephant's Child, The Ants and the Treasure, How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Camel Got His Hump, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Happy Prince), Karen Holden (The Wind in the Willows), Martha Littlehailes (The Call of the Wild), Anne Bunting (The Railway Children), Anne Isger (Too Clever By Half, The Tongue Cut Sparrow, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Children's Joke, Finn and the Scottish Giant) and Mabel Wright (Tom Thumb, The Raspberry Worm, The Magic Bed, The Baba Yaga, Peter Rabbit) 
The Raspberry Worm edited by Andrew Lang 
 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Articles featuring Hans Christian Andersen

What were the best books of 2025?

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter