Why Audiobooks are a great choice when road tripping with kids
Every great field trip begins with a journey.
Road trips are a time-honored tradition going back for about as long as there have been roads. They’re an amazing chance to spend time together as a family and see some amazing places, whether it’s a short drive across the State or a long-haul trip across the nation (or the world!).
But whether near or far, if you’ve traveled with kids you already know that while the time spent together is great, the time spent together in the car can often be difficult. The long hours stuck in the back seat would be rough on anyone, but for kids, it can feel like torture!
For those times when the trip seems to stretch out forever, and the view out their window is failing to entertain them, audiobooks have become my family’s best option for keeping us all sane.
Benefits of Audiobooks during family road trips
The most obvious benefit of audiobooks on a road trip is their amazing ability to fight boredom. There’s nothing like getting lost in a great story to help the hours pass. But there’s more to it than that. They can be super educational and a great way to prepare for whatever trip you’re on!
It doesn’t happen every time, but we really love when we can find a book where the characters have experiences that our kids can really connect with, whether that’s exploring certain places, or learning different skills. That sort of connection really catches their attention and helps to cement ideas!
Best Audiobooks for traveling with Kids
The best audiobooks for your family are the ones that are both entertaining and educational or are books that your family really connects with. The best ones are different for everybody, depending on their likes and experiences, but here are some of the ones that have worked great for our family!
Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder goes into a ton of detail explaining what life was like during the Westward expansion time period while still delivering a story that’s entertaining for kids and adults alike! These books are among some of our favorites and have provided hours of road trip relief as we drove across America.
- Little House in the Big Woods – Run time: 3:41
- Farmer Boy – Run time: 6:27
- Little House on the Prarie – Run time: 5:45
- On the Banks of Plum Creek – Run time: 6:25
- By the Shores of Silver Lake – Run time: 6:13
- The Long Winter – Run time: 7:04
- Little Town on the Prarie – Run time: 6:24
- These Happy Golden Years – Run time: 6:44
- The First Four Years – Run time: 2:27
Total Run Time: 51hrs and 10mins
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (and other books) by Grace Lin
These books weren’t technically road trip books for us, as my wife read them to our kids for bedtime stories instead. But, I cannot recommend them highly enough! They are a magical journey inspired by Chinese lore that is sure to keep everyone’s attention. And while the story itself may not be true in the traditional sense, the books do a great job of reminding us all of the power that stories hold to tell the truth when the truth needs to be heard.
Amazing writing, and well worth checking out.
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Run Time: 4:58
- When the Sea Turned to Silver – Run Time: 7:37
- Starry River of the Sky – Run Time: 5:25
Total Run Time: 18hrs
The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborn
My kids absolutely adored the Magic Tree House books, to the point that for a few months they listened to them on repeat whenever they had free time to do so. I loved that they picked up a lot of really interesting knowledge along the way, and found plenty of ways to connect their learning to our trips.
This one has the benefit of there also being a ton of books available! However, if your kids plan on listening to them more than a few times, I might suggest getting them a pair of headphones as well.
- Magic Tree House Collection: Books 1-8 Run time: 6:01
- Magic Tree House Collection: Books 9-16 Run time: 5:23
- Magic Tree House Collection: Books 17-24 Run time: 5:04
- Magic Tree House Collection: Books 25-32 Run time: 7:09
- Merlin Mission Collection: Books 1-8 Run time: 10:18
- Merlin Mission Collection: Books 9-16 Run time: 10:56
- Merlin Mission Collection: Books 17-24 Run time: 13:24
Total Run Time: 58hrs and 15mins
The Wild Robot Series by Peter Brown
While The Wild Robot isn’t particularly educational per se, my entire family loved this book! The kids loved it for the robot, and for all the adventures she had. My wife and I loved it for the lessons on empathy and caring for others. (And maybe also for the adventures.)
- The Wild Robot Run time: 4:14
- The Wild Robot Escapes Run time: 4:37
- The Wild Robot Protects Run time: 4:48
Total Run Time: 13hrs and 39mins
The Penderwicks Series by Jeanne Birdsall
We found the Penderwicks to be a particularly great book to listen to while on the road because “on the road” is exactly where the Penderwicks’ adventures begin! The first book follows the Pendewick girls and their father as they spend their vacation time as guests at a luxurious manor. Each of the girls is brilliant in their own way, and their explorations lead to some great adventures!
My family has only listened to the first one so far, but I’m excited for our next road trip so we can continue the story!
- The Penderwicks Run Time: 6:43
- The Penderwicks on Gardam Street Run Time: 7:41
- The Penderwicks at Point Mouette Run Time: 7:32
- The Penderwicks in Spring Run Time: 9:43
- The Penderwicks at Last Run Time: 8:07
Total Run Time: 39hrs and 46mins
Castle Glower Series by Jessica Day George
The Castle Glower Series is filled with magic and adventure, as the children of the missing king and queen are faced with defending their magical castle from those who would take it over from within.
These ones are definitely more entertaining than educational, but the courage and resourcefulness shown by the kids in the castle are definitely traits I want my kids to identify with. It’s another series that we’ve just started, but it has very quickly proven itself to be a lot of fun!
- Tuesdays in the Castle Run Time: 6:21
- Wednesdays in the Tower Run Time: 6:10
- Thursdays with the Crown Run Time: 5:54
- Fridays with the Wizards Run Time: 6:23
- Saturdays at Sea Run Time: 6:48
Total Run Time: 31hrs and 36mins
Henry Huggins Audio Collection by Beverly Cleary – Read by Neil Patrick Harris
Few authors’ names are as well known Beverly Cleary’s is for writing for young readers. Her Henry Huggins books are some of my favorites from what she has written, filled with the adventures (and misadventures) of Henry and his dog, Ribsy. While the writing is great, there’s no denying that the legendary voice talents of Neil Patrick Harris add a lot to the collection. You can buy the books piecemeal, but I suggest going all in for the Audio Collection to get them all at once!
- The Henry Huggins Audio Collection Books 1-6
Run Time: 15:26
The Ramona Books are pretty good, too!
- The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection
Run Time: 18:56
Total Run Time: 34hrs and 22mins
The Minecraft books by Max Brooks
This is another book that we picked up as an entertaining read for my son, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it’s really great stuff! The plot is a lot easier to follow for fans of the Minecraft game, but the lessons that the main characters learn throughout the book are for everyone.
There are other books in this series, but they’re all written by different authors and follow different characters. We haven’t listened to any of them, but if the reviews are to be believed, this is the only one worth getting from the series.
- Minecraft: The Island – Run Time: 6:17
- Minecraft: The Mountain – Run Time: 7:11
- Minecraft: The Village – Run Time: 9:51
Total Run Time: 23hrs and 19mins
The Flying Flamingo Sisters by Audible
This one is an interesting one in part because it doesn’t actually have a written form! Instead, it takes an audiobook first format, which allows it to have fun with different sound effects and audio clips throughout the book.
The story itself follows three sisters on their search for their parents while on the run from their evil uncle. It’s a story filled with humor, adventure, and lots of fun, and plays out like a radio play as much as a book. My kids loved it, and I have to agree that it’s a ton of fun!
- The Flying Flamingo Sisters Run Time: 2:13
Total Run Time: 2hrs and 13mins
Obviously, there are plenty of other great books and series to check out, but these are the ones that my family has enjoyed most recently.
Where to get great Audiobooks (without breaking the bank)
As much as I love audiobooks, I absolutely can’t deny that they are significantly more expensive than regular books. At least, they are if you buy them outright.
Fortunately, there are a couple of services that we use to help us get access to great audiobooks without needing to break the bank!
Get Audiobooks through Audible – Paid with free trial (you keep the books!)
Audible is basically the name when it comes to reliable audiobook services. They have a huge selection of great books, and, depending on how you use your credits, you can get some really good deals there.
We use our Audible credits for large book collections that provide hours of listening, or for books like Minecraft: the Island, which our kids have listened to so many times that it’s impractical to check it out from the library every time.
You can sign up for a trial of Audible here.
(You get to keep any books you buy during the trial ,whether you continue or not!)
Check them out from your local Library, using Libby
Libby is a an incredible library app that is used by most public libraries across the United States. So long as you have a library card, you can get easy and free access to a huge number of library books and audiobooks, all from your phone or tablet!
Just be aware, while you can read most Libby ebooks using an Amazon reader (like the Paperwhite), you’ll need a phone, tablet, or computer to listen to Libby Audiobooks.
Whether you are looking for something to help your kids connect with your next family field trip or something to help pass the time in the car on the way to the grandparents’ audiobooks are an excellent way to engage the whole family.
