Young learners are increasingly plugging into audio books because they're a cool reading alternative that they can download right to their mp3 players.

Do you want to get your children to read more? Audio books can be a useful and, best of all, enjoyable toolset that allow children and parents to communicate and learn in a natural and entertaining way. You can really get that unique attention, focus, collaboration and desire-for-more that is otherwise so hard to come by in the classroom.

Educators and parents are increasingly using audiobooks to snag and hold the interest of the "digital generation" at home and in the classroom. However, some teachers have trouble accepting the fact that education can be fun. But a growing number say that such an approach can make learning more engaging for today's digital kids who have never known a world without the internet, cell phones, text messaging, and PlayStations. In fact they say it can have kids learning before they even know it.

The audio format attracts kids because it's a different and cool reading alternative, especially now that they can download a book direct to their MP3 players.

Well-chosen audio books can help capture students' attention and provide rich learning environments that can be used in innovative and engaging ways, supporting learning and appealing to the learning characteristics of today's young learners.

While the spoken word is how people have communicated and learned for centuries, it’s not at all surprising that when a new evolving technology comes along that resonates with the kids they tend to get hooked.

"It makes "reading" more interesting," are some of the comments from young students. "You don't have to listen to the teacher talk all the time. You don't have to look at a book all day."

The audio industry over the last decade has experienced tremendous growth, even as formats have moved from cassettes to CDs and now digital downloads.

"The rule of thumb over the years has been that the audio industry is about 10% of what the book industry is in size," according to Jae Taylor of http://www.audiodigitalbooks.com.

In fact, according to Mr. Taylor, “audiobooks have withstood the economic downturns of the retail book market better than books themselves."

While children's audio books remain a small segment of the overall audio book market,  sales have been increasing over the years, following a general industry trend," Mr. Taylor says.

Audiobooks are particularly helpful in studying for exams or in situations where you need to take in a lot of information. They also make things like learning foreign languages much easier.

In fact, the Commission on Reading report, entitled "Becoming a Nation of Readers" states, "The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children,' "