During my grade school years I was fortunate enough to have two teachers (4th Grade - Mr Paradise, 5th Grade - Mr Benjamin) who liked to read aloud to the class every day. I know that you mentioned audiobooks specifically, but narration/readers can really have an impact on the story and bring the characters to life. I had those teachers back in '76-'77 and I remember the books and derails of the stories like it was yesterday.