Ship the Kids on Ahead Audiobook By Bill Stokes cover art

Ship the Kids on Ahead

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Ship the Kids on Ahead

By: Bill Stokes
Narrated by: Sean Runnette, James Foster, Stefan Rudnicki, R.C. Bray, Xe Sands, Joe Hempel
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We all have that one older funny family member. You know the one, he tells stories from his experiences and usually has people rolling their eyes. William Stokes is that person! He presents a delightful collection of memories that are truly life lessons even today! Stokes, through his memories and wit, provides opportunities to learn through laughter, sharing of memories and love.

Many will shake their heads in remembrance of similar experiences and crack a smile if not a full on belly laugh!

From chapters on "The Hammer is in the Petunias" to "Merry Christmas" one cannot help but feel warm and comforted in those memories he shares that are full of life lessons. His writing style is comfortable, breezing along with ease and sucking the listener along on the ride. Jump aboard and experience those eye rolling, belly laughing moments; it will be a wild ride!

This was originally self-published in 1968 and has been re-published in all modern formats as a birthday present from a grandson to his grandfather.

©2016 Bill Stokes (P)2016 Paul Stokes Biographies & Memoirs Funny Witty Feel-Good

Editorial reviews

"This is a priceless collection of memories that we all share in one form or another - I can guarantee that at least half of you have avoided washing your hands as a small child, someone you know has eaten paste or drank ink, not made your bed or attempted to organize your tools! Each of you have met with similar disastrous results from childhood into elderlyhood! Enjoy Stokes' collection of remembrances and get ready to belly-laugh your afternoon away!" (Charla White, WordsAPlenty.com)
Relatable Stories • Nostalgic Tales • Talented Narrators • Humorous Anecdotes • Slice-of-life Vignettes
Highly rated for:
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What made the experience of listening to Ship the Kids on Ahead the most enjoyable?

I had to the pleasure to be one of the narrators on this audiobook, so that itself made this entire experience BEYOND enjoyable. That said, I only got to read the stories I was going to narrate. The wait to hear the rest of Bill's stories was completely worth it!

What did you like best about this story?

Its purity. Bill's writing isn't something you can learn or pick up over time; it's innate. STKOA was written entirely from his heart.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The only reason I gave the performance ranking four stars is because of me. LOL! All the other narrators, I'm proud to say, are friends of mine and I've been listening to them for years. There's not a weak one in the bunch. Except Runnette, of course.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It is and I did. This is a wonderful book to listen to during a snowy evening after the driveway, sidewalk, and walkway have been shoveled; on a rainy fall afternoon with your spouse when the kids are entertaining themselves somewhere far, far, far away; or out on a porch or park bench on a gorgeous summer or spring day - Arnold Palmer in hand is a must!

Any additional comments?

Bill hearkens back to a time and place someone my age (40) can only wish they'd lived in/through. If you enjoy Jean Shepherd, Garrison Keillor, and Norman Rockwell... then you'll absolutely enjoy Send the Kids on Ahead. Thanks, Bill! It was an honor!

Perfect.

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What a great book and so much great talent in the narration. Most of the voices are very familiar to me, having listened to them in previous books. Did you ever sit around listening to your grandfather tell stories as a kid and later in life wished you could remember them all or wished someone would have wrote them down? This is exactly that! This is a great collection of short stories by Bill Stokes that are certainly funny and all very relatable! Each of the narrators do an excellent job bringing this book to life! I really enjoyed it!

Great stories and great laughs!

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Welcome to a simpler time. Granted, you might not think so as you journey through a world shared by Bill Stokes as he uses wit and humor to describe an era that is sadly almost forgotten.

Each one of these "columns" is delivered wonderfully and brought back memories of my childhood. This is something you should share with your children or even grandchildren. I can imagine that it will start a few engaging conversations versus the standard eyerolls you receive when recalling the days when you "walked to school five miles in the snow uphill both ways". Instead, you may be asked, "what did that mean?" or "was it really like that when you were younger?"

Whatever the reason, I would highly rec commend grabbing this clever collection and letting your mind wander back to a simpler time that might not have seemed that way to those who lived it.

Much of the narration was enjoyable, but a few seemed to almost detract as they tried too hard to be deadpan funny, but that is simply a personal preference.

Welcome to the "olden" days...stop for a chuckle

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It had it's moments

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

A great way to end the book.

What three words best describe the narrators’s performance?

enlightening, quirky, enhancing

What else would you have wanted to know about Bill Stokes’s life?

the writing process in writing short stories

Any additional comments?

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom."

An anthology of short stories

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Let me say at the outset that Ship the Kids on Ahead is not the typical sort of audiobook or reading material that I tend to gravitate toward, even in the realm of non-fiction. The time I've devoted to reading non-fiction as a whole is woefully inadequate, unfortunately, and tends to lean toward science-related topics or historical events rather than the slice-of-life minutia that Bill Stokes wrote about for the Wisconsin State Journal.

Happily, I found myself surprisingly entertained by Stokes view of small-town America circa the 1950s and '60s. Obviously, quite a lot has changed since that era, but there are still plenty of timeless experiences that are easy to relate to, particularly in the matters of family and parenting, which is a topic that Stokes turns to fairly often. And I'm right there with him in thinking there needs to be time off work for the random occurrences of dumb days, those days that begin with a sudden breaking of a shoe lace and a small piece of shell in your eggs, portents that this will be a no-good, very bad, rotten day, one better spent in bed, perhaps reading a book.

These short stories are narrated by a handful of performers and all of them are up to the task of bringing Stokes's words to life. RC Bray and Joe Hempel in particular were stand-outs for me, and they seemed to really connect with the material. Xe Sands, too, brought a nice feminine touch to the production for a few segments and it's clear that I'll have to keep an eye out for more of her work in the future.

Ship the Kids on Ahead presents the kind of columns we no longer see very much of in newspapers (at least by my estimation), and Stokes words in particular were designed to give the reader a smile or a bit of a chuckle after reading some of the more sobering stories print journalism brought to your doorstep. These are stories of daily life, of being stuck in traffic, or putting up a pegboard to hang tools from, or watering the Christmas tree and imbibing a bit too much in the process. Short, quirky, and entertaining, there is a broad appeal to the columns recorded here, and plenty to relate to.

[Note: I received a copy of this title from the publisher, Paul Stokes, in exchange for an honest review.]

Short, Quirky, and Entertaining

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Here is a collection of columns that were published in a newspaper over the course of a year. They're told month by month, so they're highly anecdotal. The author is someone who clearly grew up in the 1950's and 60's and his observations reflect that. So on the one hand it's very dated; on the other hand it is whimsical and funny.

The narrators here do a fabulous job. There is a full cast that is well-suited to this type of narration. Xe Sands does a lot of contemporary romance narration and tends to sound kind of wry and again, whimsical. She's perfect for some of the stories. Sean Runnette has a voice that is spot on for this type of thing because he sounds like he's straight out of the timer period. The other narrators are equally good and honestly it's hard to pick a favorite.

Personally I loved the story about the hammer in the petunias. It's very much a mirror of life at my house and I laughed out loud.

There is a specific audience for this audiobook. I don't think it will appeal to those younger than 50 unless they are interested in mid-20th century life. There are just too many references to culture that they won't get. But for those of us over 50, it is a walk down memory lane. If you love to reminisce, then this is the book for you.

Wonderful for the Right Crowd

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. The material could be classified as "wholesome" in content, which I liked. However, the each story was only a few minutes long. I can enjoy short anecdotes, but for me, these were just too short to really make a connection.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Humor is a pretty personal thing. Unfortunately, this book didn't do it for me. Very few of the stories did anything to make me smile or have "happy thoughts". If you like Bill Bryson or Patrick McManus, this really isn't the same.

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

All tales are told first person from the perspective of the author. However, different narrators are used. This seemed very odd and disjointed.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom

Very short little snippets of family life

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Any additional comments?

This is such a wonderful detour from all of the seriousness in other books. Bill Stokes' words a magic for the soul. I don't remember the last time I've listened to a book and smiled from start to finish.

The narration was absolutely phenomenal. Everyone did a great job and I am having a very hard time trying to single out if one was better than another... so, I'm not going to!

My advice to anyone is to just get it. If you're looking at this right now, wondering if you should buy it, stop thinking and just get it. This will be your best audiobook investment this year. It's rare when you find a book like this. Bill Stokes is a master of words and they are spoken by the masters of narration.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Such a great change of pace!

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Listening to this book brought back memories of my childhood as the author told me about his. There were also stories about his family and experiences he has had in his life. I find it very interesting to listen to his stories. They are short, and simple and engaging. I like that there are several different narrators because that keeps it new and fresh. If you like Garrison Keillor you will like this book. As a bonus, there is a 100% chance that you will learn a new way to battle a cold.

I received this book at no charge in exchange for my honest and unbiased review from audiobook boom.

Interesting

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I enjoyed listening to this recount of what it was like growing old with my children. The shift in narrators was a pleasing touch to this series of recollections. Well written as always.

Nostalgia For Me

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