Children’s audio books especially come in handy during a long road trip in the car. In addition, you can play them on a traffic jam to the summer cottage, or just when it is raining outside and you cannot go for a walk. Do not be afraid that the audiobook will discourage your child from reading on his/her own. Rather, on the contrary, it will help with the development of imaginative thinking, memory and empathy. Moreover, certainly audio fairy tales are more useful than endless cartoons. We have collected for you the best audio books for children of all ages – from 1 year to 15 years. It will be pleasant to listen to them together with children, while travelling down the USA with 7 seat car rentals.
1-2 years
The plot is not important for one-year-old kids, but they are easily carried away by the rhythmic narration and familiar words flickering in the text. In order to prepare a small child for the perception of more complex texts and help to learn to perceive information by ear, classic simple and voluminous stories for kids are ideally suited.
This is the age of poems and nursery rhymes, which help describe the child his or her everyday reality. Suitable will be collections of poems and songs about domestic cats and domestic dogs, about wild animals and even about the seasons of the year. The smallest children will catch the rhythm, and the older will already be able to listen to the text.
3-4 years
Most suitable will be a collection of simple and good poems about everything, which you can listen in your private or rental car. Perhaps you will notice an interesting side effect – if you regularly listen to poems, children will begin to remember quatrains and even the completely finished poems. Great speech and memory training!
5-6 years old. Charlotte’s Web by Alvin Brooks White
By the age of six, children are completely ready to show empathy, which means that stories can become more complicated. To listen to a book about a piglet trying to survive in a world full of dangers is impossible without sympathy. Spoiler: it will end well!
7–8 years. The Moomins by Tove Jansson
A classic of children’s literature is books about Moomins written by Tove Jansson. Many will agree that these stories can be reread at different ages. The age of eight is the best time to get acquainted with the residents of Moominvalley. It is best to start with the ‘When the Comet Comes’ book. These good and naive stories make a pleasant contrast to modern cartoons and computer games with their aggressive plots and quickly flashing shots. And they also have a cognitive function: the book teaches you to pay attention to various little things of our life and notice the behavior of animals. This is a useful skill for those who go to first grade. Moreover, when you use car rental services, you can choose a car with the best stereo system in order to hear the smallest details of this unusual book.
9 years. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
It is best to listen to audio books of Mark Twain for children over 9 years old and adults. Children of 9-15 years old will like the descriptions of friendship and first feelings, about the adventures of good friends. Adults are happy to plunge into the world of their childhood memories and will be able to refresh the feelings and emotions of the teenage period, which will certainly help them in raising their own children.
10-11 years. Little Muck by William Hauf
The most significant meaning of this fairy tale is that success comes exclusively to resourceful and energetic people. The “Little Muck” story instructs us that a person must be judged not by his/her appearance or physiological data, but by the mind and the deeds performed by this person. This lyrical and funny story teaches children goodness and sympathy, and most importantly – a respectful attitude to any person. In addition, it teaches that our life belongs to us. We ourselves are the creators of our happiness!
12 years. Waffle Heart by Maria Parr
Twelve years is a time to immerse yourself in the complexity of relationships with friends, especially if they are of the opposite sex. In this small book, the friendship-love is described as cheerful, joyful and hopeless.
13-14 years old. My Grandfather Was a Cherry Tree by Angela Nanetti
This book is paradoxical – the narrative style is completely childish, almost naive, but in such a childish way, the narrator speaks of incredibly important and difficult things. The book tells about love and how it can change, about youth and aging, how painful it is when your beloved people leave you, and how important it is to remain a true family, no matter what happens.
15 years. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
This novel tells the unbearably sad and romantic love story of two teenagers struggling with a deadly disease. This book must be read at a tender age – as a vaccine against indifference.
Sometimes, when you rent a car in an abroad country and fill it with your bags, you worry the most about the ways to entertain your children during the trip. The road, especially the long one, is much easier for the child to endure with games, music and books. Hardly anyone is ready to read a paper book at the car, but audio books are what you need in a car, train or plane.
