Audiobooks are a wonderful way to expose all students to complicated storytelling, no matter their reading level. Listening to a story being read helps students engage in text, gain exposure to more words, and ultimately improve vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. Not only that, they’re super fun! Here are 10 of our favorite places to get free audiobooks for kids, plus recommendations for a few of our favorite titles from each site.
1. Harper Kids
HarperKids (from Harper Collins Publishing) is an awesome resource to discover great audiobooks for kids. Not only that, you can find age-specific and topical book lists, reading tips, and more.
2. KidsRead2Kids
Founded by dyslexic and ADHD siblings to bring joy and confidence back to the struggling reader, KidsRead2Kids offers free audiovisual books read by kids for kids. These classic tales are filmed chapter by chapter for easy listening.
3. LibriVox
LibriVox has an extensive catalog of public domain audiobooks: 499 fiction and 47 nonfiction and counting. All for free for anyone to listen to on their computers, iPods, or other mobile device.
4. Lit2Go
Lit2Go offers a free online collection of stories and poems in audiobook format. And as a bonus, many of the stories can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along.
5. Loyal Books
Loyal Books, home to hundreds of free audiobooks for kids, is an easy-to-navigate online platform with books available in a variety of different formats and languages.
6. PBS Kids Read-Alongs
Every week, celebrities and PBS Kids authors read aloud their favorite books on the PBS Kids’ Facebook page and YouTube channel.
7. Sora
Sora offers the largest digital content catalog in the world to more than 53,000+ schools and districts. It includes digital books, spanning e-books, audiobooks, comic books, and magazines, depending on what options the district signs up for. Free to use once your school signs up. Ask your school’s administration or your child’s teacher for login information.
- Ramona Quimby
- Harry Potter
- Wonder
8. Story Seeds
The Story Seeds Podcast offers kids something a little different. Each episode pairs a kid and their imagination with their favorite author, who grows their ideas (“story seeds”) into an original, never-before-told story.
9. Storyline Online
Storyline Online is an award-winning children’s literacy program that streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading beloved children’s books alongside colorful illustrations.
10. Storynory
Storynory offers free downloadable and streaming stories for children, including classics, myths, fairy tales, poems, and original stories.
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Plus, be sure to check out our lists of best reading websites and the best ways kids can read free e-books!
Also, Ways To Boost Literacy Using Audiobooks in the Classroom.
