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, audiobooks are super fun! Here are 15 of our favorite places to get free audiobooks for kids, plus recommendations for a few of our favorite titles from each site.
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1. Harper Kids
HarperKids (from Harper Collins Publishing) is an awesome resource for discovering great audiobooks for kids. Not only that, you can find age-specific and topical book lists, reading tips, and more.
- The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald
- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
- A Mouthful of Minnows by John Hare
- Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by James and Kimberly Dean
- A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall
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.
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
- The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
- The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
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 computer, iPod, or other mobile device.
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Aesop’s Fables by Aesop
- Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- The Three Little Pigs by James Halliwell-Phillipps
4. Lit2Go
Lit2Go offers a free online collection of stories and poems in audiobook format. As a bonus, many of the stories can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along.
- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
- Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
- Squinty, the Comical Pig by Richard Barnum
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
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.
- The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
- Heidi by Johanna Spyri
- Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
- The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
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.
- Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave by Jessica Hische, read by Bobby Bones
- Goodnight, Daniel Tiger by Angela C. Santomero, read by Kristen Bell
- Arthur’s Teacher Trouble by Marc Brown, read by the author
- There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, read by Michelle Obama
- Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann, read by the author
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. It’s 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.
- Jason Reynolds, author of Ghost
- Carlos Hernandez, author of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
- Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan
- Aram Kim, author of No Kimchi for Me!
- Chris Grabenstein, author of Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
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.
- A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon, read by Sean Astin
- Brave Irene by William Steig, read by Al Gore
- Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, read by Sheryl Lee Ralph
- Arnie the Doughnut by Laurie Keller, read by Chris O’Dowd
- The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman, read by Wanda Sykes
10. Storynory
Storynory offers free downloadable and streaming stories for children, including classics, myths, fairy tales, poems, and original stories.
11. Spotify
Spotify is one of the best places to find free audiobooks in the public domain for kids. In addition, Spotify has a whole Spoken Word section dedicated to audiobooks, poems, and other non-musical resources, but you’ll need to create a free Spotify account to access them.
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
12. Vooks
Vooks is a digital library of children’s storybooks brought to life with animation, read-aloud narration, engaging music and sound, and read-along highlighted text. The website offers a 7-day free membership followed by a monthly fee, but many titles can be found on YouTube for free.
- Stay Wild, My Child by Mandy Archer and Shane Crampton
- Hats Are Not for Cats! by Jacqueline K. Rayner
- Gossie & Gertie by Olivier Dunrea
- The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
13. Little Cozy Nook
Little Cozy Nook’s mission is to create a peaceful environment for kids to enjoy learning and reading along with classic literature.
- The Mitten by Jan Brett
- There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe by Jane Cabrera
- What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss
14. The Fable Cottage
This YouTube channel out of New Zealand has an impressive library of famous beloved fables. The most fun part is you can choose titles read with an American accent or a British accent. There are also options for French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
15. Amazon
Amazon offers many free Audible audiobooks. Search “Books for Children’s Audible” and look for $0 titles. In addition to audiobooks, there are many podcasts that include read-aloud stories.
- Guinea Pig Investigates by Ivan Andrusyak
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- The Chocolate Tree by Dina Gregory
- Sleep Tight Stories Podcast
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