Good news everyone – audiobooks aren’t just in big, old cassette bundles anymore! You and your children can enjoy audiobooks in lots of different ways – whether you prefer listening to physical CD’s or downloading to your device. Audiobooks can even be enjoyed on a budget! There are also a huge range of children’s audiobooks out there. We at HarperCollins publish an audiobook for every story we publish because we think everyone should have the opportunity to listen to their favourite story. But with so many ways of listening audiobooks out there, setting out on your listening journey can seem daunting so here are some helpful tips on how and where you can get started.
How to Get Started:
- Buying audiobooks has never been easier! You can now download audiobooks onto your phone, tablet or computer either through subscription based apps such as Audible and Kobo or via an à la carte service such as Google Play or the iTunes store. You can even stream audiobooks on Bookbeat or Spotify! Click here to find out more about free audiobook apps.
- Libraries are a fantastic resource with lots of audiobooks on CD or cassette. There are even free audiobooks to download through the Overdrive app. All you need is a library card!
- If you have a smart speaker or voice assistant such as Alexa or Google Home, you can just try asking for a bedtime story! HarperCollins Children’s Books recently launched a voice-activated app on Google Assistant for children’s audiobooks called StoryCastle. Every day there are two new children’s stories in StoryCastle to enjoy and best of all, it’s completely free!
- There are also lots of great free apps and websites for children’s audiobooks like StoryNory which offers free audio downloads of classic fairy tales, world fairy tales and traditional fables and Lit2Go which not only provides hundreds of audiobooks but also downloadable PDFs for your child to read along!
Top Children’s Audiobooks from HarperCollins:
Ages 0-4
Stories for Summer Holidays, Age 2+, a compilation of 12 HarperCollins audiobooks for young children
Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers, read by Oliver Jeffers (£1.99, HarperCollins)
The Tiger Who Came to Tea: by Judith Kerr, read by Geraldine McEwan (£1.99, HarperCollins)
The Bear Who Went Boo by David Walliams, read by David Walliams (£1.99, HarperCollins)
Ages 5-7
Stories for Summer Holidays, Age 5+, a compilation of 12 HarperCollins audiobooks for older children
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond, read by Stephen Fry (£6.99, HarperCollins)
The Parent Agency by David Baddiel, read by David Baddiel (£6.99, HarperCollins)
The World’s Worst Children David Walliams, read by David Walliams and Nitin Ganatra (£6.99, HarperCollins)
Ages 8-12
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, read by Michael York (£7.99, HarperCollins)
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, read by Rupert Degas (£8.49, HarperCollins)
The Midnight Gang by David Walliams, read by David Walliams, Peter Serafinowicz, Morwenna Banks, Nitin Ganatra and Ellen Thomas (£7.99, HarperCollins)
