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What is the Best Way to Listen to Audiobooks?

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You are itching for the kids to listen to the incredible reading of Little House on the Prairie read by Cherry Jones.  Or, maybe you can’t wait to hear the Winnie-the-Pooh story on audio. But, what is the best way to listen to audiobooks?

We are exploring favorite ways to listen to audiobooks with kids.  Are you all ears?

What are the best ways to listen to audiobooks? Check out these ideas for listening to books with kids.

Listening to Audiobooks

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Free Places to Find Audiobooks

Library

Our favorite place to borrow audiobooks is from our public library.  It’s generally free and the selection is vast.  There are a couple of ways of using library resources to listen to audiobooks.

  1.  Books on CD– This is our preferred method for listening in the car or on a cd player. Just borrow your CD of choice.  I highly recommend the Little House on the Prairie series.
  2.  Hoopla– A digital download and streaming service through some public libraries allowing patrons to access a certain number of audiobooks each month.  My son loves to listen to the large assortment of The Boxcar Children.
  3. Overdrive for Kids and 3M Cloud Library– Both are digital borrowing systems for downloading audiobooks and online materials.  Be aware that you may have to wait to borrow copies.

Ask your librarian which services are available for patrons at your library.

LibriVox

LibriVox is a collection that consists of public domain books that volunteers read aloud to create free audiobook recordings.  There could be multiple readers for the same book and quality can vary.

The Read Aloud Revival book list includes a great list of Librivox books listed by narrator that are worth a listen.

Building an Audiobook Library

Audible

There are different ways to utilize Audible for accessing audiobooks.

  1. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you have access to stream a selection of 50 rotating books some of which are children’s books.
  2. You can also subscribe to Audible for $14.95 a month and receive a credit for one book each month.  You can use that credit on any priced book.  You also get a 30% discount on any other audiobooks you order.  Plus, you can swap books you don’t like.  The selection of audiobooks is fantastic.

Best of all you try a FREE 30 day trial of Audible to see how you like it.—>Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Whispersync

If you purchase a Kindle edition of a book on Amazon, you have the option to add Whispersync narration for a discounted amount.  You are able to switch back and forth between read mode and listen mode.

Amazon

You can also purchase audiobooks through Amazon.  Need a few ideas?  Here are some of our favorites.

Best Audiobooks for Children (Young Listeners)

Best Audiobooks for Your Next Family Vacation

What are the best ways to listen to audiobooks? Check out these ideas for listening to books with kids.

So grab an audiobook and listen with the children. What book are you itching to read with the kids first?


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About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

Comments

  1. Rita says

    Audio devices distract my son , he will listen to the story. He will browse in tHe internert or explore other features of the device. Any way to minimize the distraction?

  2. Heather says

    I love Hoopla, but have also discovered another option, THROUGH my library, that is just for my son who has learning disabilities. CELA is available in Canada,through some libraries, for people with loss of vision or other reading disabilities…and we can get books in french for him too, great for french immersion.

  3. Jeanette says

    I have aNd love Amazon Prime, but had no idea you could nab some free audiobooks through it! Yay! I Definitely need to get in the habit of audiobooks in the car, too. For some reason i keep forgetting about them.