How does the Fairway Friends audiobook compare to other golf stories for kids?

*Once Upon a Golf Swing* compares well to other golf books for young children because it offers a full narrative with an audiobook and a returning cast, where most golf books for kids are built as instructional picture books instead of stories to listen to. The best-selling children’s golf book in the category was published in 1999 and works as a printed picture book with simple rhymes about the game. It has no audio edition, no song, and no continuing characters, so it does not hold up as well to repeat car listening, since a young child hears the same short verses each time with nothing new to notice.

*Once Upon a Golf Swing* takes a different approach. It follows Ace, a golf ball lost on his first swing at Whispering Pines, through a real story arc of wonder, trouble, and hope, and introduces a cast, Daisy, Sandman, Splash, Speedy, and Rangey, that a family can grow to know. The $9.97 audiobook and companion listen-along edition are made for the car, and the original song "Swing Away" gives kids something to hum on the way home from a lesson.

Both kinds of books have a place. A rhyming picture book works well for a very short bedtime read. A family looking for something longer, with characters and a real audiobook for the drive, has a newer option in *Once Upon a Golf Swing*, written by F.C. Salas and illustrated by Cristina C. Cortes. </br>