# Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children

The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality "spoken word" performances aimed at children. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."
The award was first presented to Audrey Hepburn and producers Deborah Raffin and Michael Viner in 1994 for the album Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales. Its last winners were the artists, producers, audio engineers, and audio mixers who contributed to the album Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies in 2011, when it was announced the award would be combined with the Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children to form the Grammy Award for Best Children's Album.
Tom Chapin holds the record for the most wins in this category, with a total of three. Artists Bill Harley and Jim Dale, along with audio engineer David Correia, and producers Arnold Cardillo and David Rapkin, and audio engineer-musical director Rory Young, are the others to win the award more than once, all winning it twice. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has also won the award, along with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren, for their work on the album Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf at the 2003 installment of the awards.

## Recipients

| Year | Performing artist(s) | Personnel | Work | Nominees |
| 1994 | Audrey Hepburn | Deborah Raffin and Michael Viner, producers | Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales | John Cleese – Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Dr. Seuss) (Sharon Lerner producer) Danny Glover and Dr. John – Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion (Dr. John, Ken Hoin, and Doris Wilhousky producers) Sesame Street Muppets – The Muppet Christmas Carol Story Album (Ed Mitchell producer) Various artists – Aladdin Sound and Story Theater (Ted Kryczko producer) |
| 1995 | Various artists | Robert Guillaume, narrator. Randy Thornton and Ted Kryczko, producers | The Lion King Read-Along | Amy Grant – The Creation (Bela Fleck, Brian Gleeson, and Craig Rogers producers) John Hurt – Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (Brian Gleeson, Mickey Hart, and C.W. Rogers producers) Garrison Keillor – Johnny Appleseed (Ken Hoin and Mark O'Connor producers) Various artists – The Magic School Bus: Fun With Sound (John Wynne, producer) |
| 1996 | Patrick Stewart | Dan Broatman and Martin Sauer, producers | Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf | Morgan Freeman – Follow the Drinking Gourd (Taj Mahal, John McCally, and Doris Wilhousky producers) David Holt and Bill Mooney – Why the Dog Chases the Cat: Great Animal Stories (David Holt and Bill Mooney producers) B.B. King and Denzel Washington – John Henry (B.B. King and Doris Wilhousky producers) Winona Ryder – The Diary of a Young Girl (Lauren Krenzel producer) |
| 1997 | David Holt | Steven Heller, David Holt, and Virginia Callaway, producers | Stellaluna | Melissa Manchester – The Wonderful O (James Thurber) (Deborah Raffin producer) Carl Reiner – The Prince and the Pauper (Mark Twain) (Victoria Preminger producer) Robin Williams – Jumanji (Chris Van Allsburg) (Susan Dudnick Boer producer) Michael York – Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson) (Shauna Zurbrugg producer) |
| 1998 | Charles Kuralt | John McElroy, producer | Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne) | Long John Baldry – The Original Story of Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne) Gabriel Byrne – The Star-Child and the Nightingale & the Rose (Oscar Wilde) Eric Idle – The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear) |
| 1999 | Various artists (Jim Belushi, Robert Davi, Tate Donovan, Linda Hamilton, Patrick MacNee, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga) | Dan Musselman and Stefan Rudnicki, producers | The Children's Shakespeare | Miguel Ferrer – Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Read-Along (Randy Thornton producer) June Foray – Disney's Mulan Read and Sing Along (Ted Kryczko and Randy Thornton producers) Bill Harley – Weezie and the Moon Pies (Bill Harley producer) Sharon Kennedy – The Patchwork Quilt and Other Stories From Around the World (Bing Broderick, Kennedy and Steve Netsky producers) Sesame Street Muppets – Elmo's New Laugh (Ed Mitchell producer) |
| 2000 | Graham Greene, Wynton Marsalis, and Kate Winslet | David Frost and Steven Epstein, producers | Listen to the Storyteller | Jim Dale – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Kathy Hale producer) Bill Harley – The Battle of Mad Scientists and Other Tales of Survival (Debbie Block and Bill Harley producers) Hayden Panettiere – A Bug's Life Read-Along (Randy Thornton and Ted Kryczko producers) Sesame Street Muppets – Let's Eat! (Ed Mitchell producer) |
| 2001 | Jim Dale | David Rapkin, producer | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | James Earl Jones – The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey Liam Neeson – The Polar Express Paul Newman – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Susan Sarandon – Dinosongs: Poems to Celebrate a T. Rex Named Sue |
| 2002 | Tom Chapin | Arnold Cardillo, producer. Rory Young, audio engineer | Mama Don't Allow | Tim Curry – A Series of Unfortunate Events – Book 1: The Bad Beginning Vanessa Redgrave and Stephen Fry – Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant & The Nightingale And The Rose Various artists – Dr. Seuss – How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – CD Read-Along Ruth Westheimer – Timeless Tales and Music of Our Time |
| 2003 | Tom Chapin | – | There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly | Jamie Lee Curtis – The Jamie Lee Curtis Audio Collection John Lithgow and various artists – Ogden Nash's the Christmas That Almost Wasn't Jerry Seinfeld – Halloween Various artists – Monsters, Inc. DVD Read-Along |
| 2004 | Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Sophia Loren | Wilhelm Hellweg, producer. Jean-Marie Geijsen, audio engineer. | Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks | Jim Broadbent – Winnie-the-Pooh Jim Dale – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Eric Idle – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Carl Reiner – Tell Me a Scary Story |
| 2005 | Tom Chapin | Arnold Cardillo, producer. Rory Young, audio engineer. | The Train They Call the City of New Orleans | Marin Alsop – The Story of Classical Music John Lithgow – The Emperor's New Clothes Various artists – Green Eggs and Ham and Other Servings of Dr. Seuss Elaine Stritch – The Best Halloween Ever |
| 2006 | Various artists | Christopher B. Cerf and Marlo Thomas, producers. Nick Cipriano, audio engineer. | Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long | Jim Dale – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Roy Dotrice – Pooh's Heffalump Ray Romano – Raymie, Dickie, and the Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers Various artists (David Rapkin producer) – A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning |
| 2007 | Bill Harley | David Correia, audio engineer | Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates and Dogs | Jim Dale – Peter Pan John McCutcheon – Christmas in the Trenches Lynn Redgrave – The Witches Various artists – Disney's Little Einsteins Musical Missions |
| 2008 | Jim Dale | Orli Moscowitz and David Rapkin, producers. Nikki Banks, Sound Engineer. | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Milbre Burch – Making the Heart Whole Again: Stories for a Wounded World Diane Ferlatte – Wickety Whack – Brer Rabbit Is Back Toni Morrison – Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper? The Lion or the Mouse? Poppy or the Snake? Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep – The One and Only Shrek |
| 2009 | Bill Harley | Daniel P. Dauterive, producer. Beth Anne Austein, David Correia, and Michael Marsolek, audio engineers. | Yes to Running! Bill Harley Live | Buck Howdy and BB – Around the Campfire Gwyneth Paltrow – Brown Bear and Friends Dean Pitchford – The Big One-Oh Tony Shalhoub – The Cricket in Times Square |
| 2010 | Buck Howdy | Buck Howdy, producer. Steve Wetherbee, audio engineer and mixer. | Aaaaah! Spooky, Scary Stories & Songs | Ed Asner – Scat Harlan Ellison – Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There David Hyde Pierce – The Phantom Tollbooth Dean Pitchford – Captain Nobody Various artists – Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales |
| 2011 | Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton | Michele McGonigle, producer. Cynthia Daniels, John Colucci and Tommy Harron, audio engineers and mixers. | Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies | Selma Blair – Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition Bill Harley – The Best Candy in the Whole World Emma Thompson – Nanny McPhee Returns Various artists – Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat |
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.