Through audiobooks, you can entertain your children with classic and modern stories, introduce them to situations and historical periods different from their own, and help them practice listening comprehension. And if you need time to work or finish other tasks, setting your child up with a good audiobook can give them the space to get things done.
Check out these seven websites where you can find free audiobooks for your kids (including many children’s classics) and some tips to get you started.
You are reading: Free audio books for kids
pbs kids
if your little one loves picture books, they’ll love reading with pbs kids! This playlist features children’s books read by the author or a notable person, including former First Lady Michelle Obama and American Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
spotify
Through spotify, you can access tons of free public domain audiobooks, like:
- the secret garden of frances hodgson burnett
- the wonderful wizard of oz by l. frank baum
- peter pan by j.m. barrie
- the count of monte cristo by alexandre dumas
- the adventures of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle
- the treasure island of robert louis stevenson
- narrative of the life of frederick douglass by fredrick douglass
- the time machine by h.g. wells
Beyond these beloved classics, Spotify also has an entire spoken word section dedicated to audiobooks, poems, and other non-music resources. you will need to create a free spotify account to access any of these items.
story
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the storynory podcast offers short weekly audiobooks based on folklore and fairy tales from around the world. Folktales retold include stories by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Aesop.
Use these links to listen to the podcast on one of these popular listening platforms:
- apple podcasts
- spotify
- podbean
harper kids
The Harper Kids YouTube channel features readings from popular picture books on its Storytime Read-Aloud playlist. Older kids who are ready for chapter books can enjoy The Graveyard Book, read by author Neil Gaiman.
librivox
librivox has created thousands of free classic audiobooks read by volunteers. Just like Spotify, all of the books available on librivox are open to the public domain, so you won’t find some of the more modern stories that are still under copyright.
While not all of these audiobooks are suitable for a younger child’s listening level, librivox has many books by authors taught in elementary and middle school, including:
- beatrix potter
- louisa may alcott
- l.m. montgomery
- hans christian andersen
- lewis carroll
- mark twain
- charles dickens
- edgar allan poe
- jane austen
- william shakespeare
overdrive
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Through the overdrive libby app, you can access audiobooks available at your local library and listen to them online. Because each library carries a different selection of books, the children’s books you can find will vary depending on where you live. additionally, you will need to have a library card to access overdrive and libby.
try this library finder to find the nearest library that uses overdrive. If your local library doesn’t use Overdrive, ask them if they offer a similar audiobook platform. most libraries do, and will be happy to help!
seeds of history
This podcast features short stories written by children ages 6-12 in collaboration with best-selling children’s authors. Some fun episodes to start with include:
- a worm’s worth (co-written by jayson reynolds)
- a girl who looks like me (co-written by susan muaddi darraj)
- the hungry mirror (co-written by raini larocca)
Also, if your child has a story idea of their own, they can submit it to the podcast here!
Looking for more digital books for your child to read? waterford mentor offers thousands of books and digital activities in English and Spanish for families to print and enjoy.
Sign up for a free account here!
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