Abstract
This paper is a guide to the 34 IBC audio books published and still available in Japan as of January 2024. According to supervisor Kiyoshi MATSUZAWA (1950-), the series was designed to improve Japanese students' ability to listen to English with the help of the CDs included with each textbook. Unlike ordinary audio books in the United Kingdom and the United States, the recordings are somewhat slower and the English itself is much easier for students learning English as a foreign language. However, the attractive content will surely encourage them to enjoy listening to English all the time, hopefully as a hobby.
In particular, I recommend three how-to books: Inspiring Quotations, Inspirational Proverbs and Sayings, and Signposts for Balance in Love and Work to all students, because they are eager to find inspiration for success in their lives. The Gandhi Story is a good example of how to become a great man whom people all over the world will always respect. Both The Japanese Economy and Bushido : The Soul of Japan remind Japanese students of the efforts of their great ancestors.
Because Japanese listeners are more familiar with Japanese literature, I recommend that they listen to Long-ago Stories of Japan, Gon, the Fox / Buying Some Gloves, Rakugo, The Nose / Toshishun, Run, Melos, Run, and The Night of the Milky Way Train just before listening to the Western counterparts: Aesop's Fables, The Best of Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Best of Andersen's Fairy Tales, Beauty and the Beast, and O. Henry's American Scenes.
Through translation and anime, some foreign children's books have become so famous in Japan that Japanese listeners may find the following quite interesting: Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Little Prince, A Dog of Flanders, A Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Wizard of Oz.
Novelized Roman Holiday is such a wonderful feature of this series that the fans of the Audrey Hepburn movie will be happy to get it. Romeo and Juliet can also be enjoyed as a novel. As for great literature from the UK, USA and France, Oliver Twist, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables are available. However, the most popular genre is probably mystery. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, From the Files of Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Arsene Lupin, and And Then There Were None can be called masterpieces that you cannot miss.
