Did you love listening to books on tape or CD when you were little? While the traditional talking books for toddlers are a bit harder to find now, these days it’s all about audio books, and I’ve put together a list of some of the best audio books for toddlers and preschoolers – perfect for car trips and rest time.
Does your toddler ever listen to audiobooks? This was something that I remember doing all the time as a child (books on tape – wow that shows my age, and then progressing to books on CD- some people even call them talking books) and I’ve recently started letting my toddlers listen to audiobooks too. They love it! To be honest, we do still have a collection of children’s books on CD as my car is old enough to still have a CD player and they are great to keep them entertained in the car. We currently have the Lion King on repeat! If you have a more modern car than mine then you can play your audiobooks through your phone with an app like audible.
Listening is such an important skill and one that often gets overlooked now that everything is so interactive. While listening to stories, your toddler is learning about the structure of texts, increasing their vocabulary, identifying language patterns (rhyme, repetition etc), and most importantly, learning to love books. Even thought they’re only little, they learn so much from listening.
We’ve been using Audible.com (they have a 30 day free trial) and I download them to my phone or Ipad using the free Audible app. Our favorite place to listen to them is in the car, but I’ll often put one on when we have quiet time, or just before nap time. If we happen to have a hard copy of the book as well, they like to follow along.
Searching for audio books can be a bit overwhelming and it’s hard to find ones that are suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. Our favorite audiobooks so far have been:
1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Eric Carle – Get the Audio Book or Book and CD.
This is a classic Eric Carle book that you’re kids will be reciting on their own eventually! It’s a great book to act out as well.
2. Walking through the Jungle By Stella Blackstone – Get the audio book or book on CD.
We’ve had the CD version of this book for years (even before I had my own kids – we used it in the classroom all the time). It’s such a fun book and the sounds that are included in the audio version make it even more fun!
3. The Wheels on the Bus By BBC Audiobooks – Get the audio book or book on CD.
It’s a classic book to have as an audiobook so we couldn’t leave out The Wheels on the Bus. This one is perfect for a sing a long and to break up those long car trips too!
4. The Tractor Who Wants to Fall Asleep – Get the Audiobook
This book is so sweet! A perfect bedtime book that will quickly become a favorite.
5. Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson – Get the Audiobook HERE or the Book and CD HERE.
Julia Donaldson is one of my favorite children’s authors and I know you’ll enjoy this cute story too!
4. Peppa Goes Swimming Get the Audio Book HERE or the physical book HERE
Now this one is certainly not going to win any awards, but it can’t be disputed that toddlers love that damn pig! I always have the motto that any reading is good so this one makes the list because my kids listened to it over and over and over again!
5. Room on the Broom – Julia Donaldson – Available on Audiobook HERE or Book and CD HERE.
If you haven’t already got a copy of Room on the Broom, then you need to! There’s a reason this is an award winning children’s book and a favorite with early years educators and parents too.
Fuzzy Wuzzy
This cute rhyming story about a fuzzy wuzzy bear is sure to be a hit with this age group – perfect for a bedtime story or to listen to in the car! Available on Audiobook HERE or in paperback HERE.
By signing up for a 30 day free trial here you are eligible for 2 free audio book downloads to get started.
I’d love to hear what audio books you think your toddler would love to listen to with their Audible free trial or any great ones that we can add to our list- let us know in our Facebook group or comment below.
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If you love these books then you’ll definitely love our collection of 50 Great Toddler Books.
You may also enjoy our collection of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities.
Or our ABC Activities for Toddlers
Raymond Stone says
I need to win for all my grandkids. Thank You!
Kay Bishop says
Would love this for my 18 month old grandson. Thanks for the chance to win.
Kenny Diveley says
would like to see if these work as well as actually reading to the young ones
Carol says
The research I’ve read shows that there are lots of benefits.
cheryl says
thanks for the chance
Tony Serdenes says
Our baby loves books, but we’ve never tried an audio version!!
Joan Leonard says
nice prize
Lynne Chambers says
My nieces and nephews would love these audio books. Thanks for the giveaway!
Nikki G says
Great Giveaway!
breanna pollard says
Thanks for the chance!
Tama Fitzsimmons says
My grandson would love the Thomas book!!
Debbie E says
These would be perfect for three year old that loves books! Thanks for the opportunity
CHRISTY SWEENEY says
THIS WOULD BE PERFECT FOR CAR RIDES!
Carol says
We are loving these for car rides!
Shirley Boisvert says
My nephew would really enjoy this!
[email protected] says
the grandkids would luv this
Shannon says
My 3 year old would absolutely LOVE these. She’s so into books right now.
Carol says
Fantastic!
Hannah Mums' Days says
We have all the Julia Donaldson books on audio tapes and the best by far is the Lady Bird Heard. Reuben knows all the words and laughs when the thieves fall into the duckpond. There’s even a song which is AWESOME!!
Great post, I’d not really thought much about audio books yet, but there were a huge part of my life growing up – all those LOOOOONG car journeys!
Thanks for linking up to #TheList xx
Carol says
Thanks for the great suggestion – I’ll have to get that one!
Ken Wise says
I think they would listen to Thomas and Friends
Betty Fellows says
Thanks
Reshama says
Nice picks.. Peppa was such a great story line to listen to. We do longer books now. But miss those short stories now 🙂
Carol says
Thanks Reshama – I’d be quite happy to not listen to Peppa anymore!
anne says
Thank you for this chance!!
Mary M says
Wheel On the Bus sounds great.
Carol says
That one is always a favorite!
kristen shadwell says
my sonm would love thesde
Margaret Yannucci says
These would be great for my Granddaughters
Eva Mack says
fun time together
Pam Flynn says
What a cool way to help all the grandma’s out here with toddlers and short attention spans. Thanks for the chance!
Kylie says
We love audio books, they always have such nice sound effects and are great for when Mummy is tired! 😉 I remember listening to them on my cassette player as a kid in the car when I was little
Carol says
I remember the cassette ones too!
Lora says
I use to love audio books as a kid. My dad used to always play the wind in the willows and the hobbit.
I think Thomas would go down well out of those choices, plus mummy is rather sick of Peppa!
Agree on Julia Donaldson, we play stick man in the car a lot.
We’ll have to give this a try!
Denice says
My daughter loves listening to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? She even asks me to buy its book edition, While listening to its audiobook she open and reads it books. I’m so happy when I see here like that she so cute.
Sidney says
Would love these for my three year old!