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Best Road Trip Audiobooks For Kids

When we’re in the car for a long time, these road trip audiobooks for kids save us. My kids are good travelers, but they need something besides screens to keep them occupied.

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Collage of six audiobook covers: The Tale of Emily Windsnap, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Magnus Chase, Holes, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, and Judy Moody.

Yes, my kids watch movies in the car. And they get to play with their iPads. But… I don’t want them stuck on screens nonstop.

Audiobooks are a great way to keep them entertained, but it’s important that we pick books they enjoy that I can handle listening to, as well.

When I ask them to color or play a car game like cars bingo or a road trip scavenger hunt (both are free printables btw!), an audiobook is the perfect way to keep them entertained while they search the road.

I also found that once they got into a book or book series on audiobook, they wanted to continue reading at home. Sometimes they reread the book, and sometimes they found and read other books in the series or by that author.

And yes, sometimes, they like to listen to the book while they follow along with their hard copy. And I’m totally cool with that.

These are the road trip audiobooks for kids that they’ve enjoyed the most over the years. Check them out and get prepared for your next road trip!

How to listen to audiobooks in the car

The best way to listen to your audiobooks on the go? Download the book to your phone, then pair it with your car’s speaker.

Most newer cards have Android Audio and Apple CarPlay. Simply pair your phone and go.

If you don’t have that capability (my car doesn’t), you can either listen straight on your phone, tablet, or computer if you have downloaded your audiobook in advance, or you can connect your phone or tablet to your car’s stereo system.

To connect to your stereo system, either purchase an FM transmitter or use the aux connection with a high quality USB cord to maximize the audio quality, depending on what your car can handle.

The FM transmitter is pretty cool. This plugs into your car charger port, and you plug your phone into it with a standard USB cable.

Tune to an open FM station, and then you transmit from your phone to your car stereo with whatever you want. This includes hands free phone calls, as well as listening to audiobooks or podcasts or your favorite music.

As long as your phone has a 3.5mm jack port – and admittedly, some no longer do, although you can purchase an adaptor – you can easily use an AUX cable to connect your phone or tablet to your car’s stereo system.

Plug the cable into both your phone’s audio jack and the corresponding port in your car. Tune your car’s radio to aux, and you’re set to play your audiobooks or whatever else you choose.

Where is the best place to find audiobooks to listen to?

I love how many books are now available on audiobook now. It’s such a great way to enjoy books when you don’t have the time or ability or inclination to read them.

Audible

Audible is one of the most popular way to listen to audiobooks, in part for the sheer volume of titles available. Best of all, you can try Audible for 30 days free to make sure it’s a good fit for you!

This is a monthly subscription service, and it quickly pays for itself. Audible Plus costs $7.95 per month after the 30 day free trial, and it lets you listen to anything in the plus catalog at no cost.

Audible Premium plus has a couple extra benefits, and it costs $14.95 per month after your free trial. In addition to the plus catalog, you also get a credit to purchase any book in the premium catalog you want no matter its cost, and  you get 30% off all additional premium titles after that in addition to exclusive sales.

You can cancel your subscription at any time, so you aren’t locked in for years at a time. Given that you get a free trial and no risk, try the Audible Premium and see how you like it.

Check your local library

If you’re lucky, your local library may offer audiobooks either physical audiobooks you can play in your car in various formats or digital options from an online source like Libby or OverDrive.

The challenge is that libraries often have a more limited selection than Audible, and popular audiobooks frequently have a wait list. If your library offers audiobooks, however, this is often a good option.

Purchase audiobooks

If you know you want to listen to specific audiobooks for a road trip and want to own them without creating a subscription, purchasing your audiobook is probably your best option.

This has the greatest variety of books available to you, so you can get really creative with the books you choose to purchase and listen to. Like all books, however, some may be “out of print” or not yet in audiobook form, so you can’t access every book ever published.

Kobo

Kobo is another audiobook and ebook site, and they have a huge selection available. They have both a “free” account and a $10 annual VIP account.

With the “free” account, you purchase your ebooks and audiobooks as you wish to enjoy them. You do earn loyalty points with both accounts, though you earn twice as many points with the VIP account.

The VIP account also gets you 10% off over 1.5 million ebooks and audiobooks, as well as a free ebook annually (from a list of popular titles).

You earn 10 loyalty points for ever $1 you spend at Kobo (20 for VIP members), and you can redeem your points for ebooks and audiobooks starting at 2400 points.

The also have an audiobook subscription service for $9.99/month. And yes, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial. Each month, you get to choose a free audiobook that is yours to keep, even if you cancel the service.

Recommendations of the best road trip audiobooks for kids

Regardless of how you get your audiobooks, get listening! This helps to make your road trip go by faster – or at least it does for us!

Best Road Trip Audiobooks For Kids

What would you add to this list of road trip audiobooks for kids?

Collage of 8 books with text 16 road trip audiobooks for kids. Books include The Magical Misfits, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, How to Train Your Dragon, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Gregor the Overlander, Magnus Chase, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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