Chris Smith Audiobooks

Kid Normal and the Final Five: superhero comedy for young listeners

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.8/5 average

743 listener ratings

Who is Chris Smith?

Children’s comedy is a harder trick than it looks, and the Kid Normal books are built on it. The premise sits in the name of the series: a superhero story whose hero is conspicuously normal, which is the joke and the heart of the thing at once.

Chris Smith belongs to the branch of children’s writing that never talks down. The comedy is quick, the plotting is proper adventure rather than filler between gags, and the emotional business is handled without a lecture. That balance is why books like these get re-listened to rather than finished once.

The Final Five is a closing chapter rather than an opening one, which says something in itself. This is writing that finishes what it starts and gives a young audience the satisfaction of a real ending.

Chris Smith in audiobooks

Kid Normal and the Final Five is the strongest performer we hold under this name, and by some distance. An exceptional listener score drawn from a large number of ratings, which in children’s audio usually means families playing it more than once.

Chris Smith reads it, and author narration in children’s fiction has a particular advantage: the person who wrote the joke knows precisely where the beat falls. Six and a half hours is well judged for the age group too, substantial enough for a long car journey and short enough not to sprawl.

Newcomers should note that this instalment closes a sequence, so beginning earlier in the series pays off. Browse the audiobooks below.