Reading was a massive part of our childhood – whether it was getting lost in a Cathy Cassidy drama, crying over Jacqueline Wilson, or obsessing over The Hunger Games. And let’s not forget the early favourites like Guess How Much I Love You and The Rainbow Fish (nostalgia incoming).

But as much as we loved lugging books around, it must’ve been a bit of a nightmare for our parents – packing multiple paperbacks for every holiday, plus the cost of keeping up with our ever-growing reading lists.

Thankfully, reading’s had a glow-up – and audiobooks now make it super easy (and mess-free) to keep kids entertained, whether you’re at home, on the go, or just trying to avoid another hour of screen time.

From the Yoto Player’s massive story card library (yes, it includes the entire Harry Potter series) to Toniebox tales from Roald Dahl and National Geographic, there’s something for every age and interest.

In our guide below, you’ll find the best audiobooks for Yoto, Tonies, and Audible – complete with age ratings so you can be sure it’s a good fit for your child.

For more information about these two audio players, take a look at our Yoto Player vs Toniebox guide.

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What device is best for listening to audiobooks for kids?

child using headphones to use a toniebox in the car

We'd recommend buying a Yoto Player, an Amazon device such as an Echo for Audible, or Ta oniebox for your child to listen to audiobooks. We've included some information about each device below. It might be that you already have one of these players, in which case, skip right on down to the top audiobooks!

  • Yoto Player — This audio player is essentially a child-friendly speaker that can play content via Yoto Cards, as well as content from an accompanying app. These cards include a range of content, such as audiobooks like Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.
  • Toniebox — Similarly, a Toniebox is an audio player aimed at children that can play a range of audio content via small figures called Tonies.
  • Amazon Echo — The Echo device is a brilliant way to listen to your audiobooks via Amazon's own subscription service, Audible. Yes, you can play Audible audiobooks on Amazon Echo devices using voice commands with Alexa. To access an audiobook, simply say 'Alexa, play my Audible book' or, more specifically, 'Alexa, read The Gruffalo'.

Is Audible still free for kids?

Yes, it is!

Audible Stories is a place where anyone across the world can enjoy unlimited streaming of hundreds of child-friendly titles, such as Winnie the Pooh, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and The Call of the Wild, for free.

You can access the site from your computer, tablet, and smartphone, and remember, you don't need to be an Audible member to access Audible Stories.

Start your 30-day free Audible trial

Best audiobooks for kids at a glance

Best Audible audiobooks for kids at a glance:

Best Tonies audiobooks for kids at a glance:

Best Yoto audiobooks for kids at a glance:

What are the best audiobooks for kids?

Yoto Hogwarts Collection - Lifestyle, Child
Yoto

The Jungle Book - The Soundscape Audiobook

Age rating: 8+ | Audio platform: Yoto

Hearing classic tales, such as The Jungle Book, told in a brand-new way is one of our favourite things. It's brilliant to see how an old story can come to life, and to hear how little ones engage with it, too. This version of The Jungle Book boasts captivating sound effects, brilliant original music, and great voice acting by Phil Dragash.

Buy The Jungle Book - The Soundscape Audiobook for £8.99 at Yoto

Enid Blyton Five Minute Stories

Age rating: 5+ | Audio platform: Yoto

When we were reminiscing about childhood books with the whole MadeForMums team, Enid Blyton stories came up more than once; we loved The Famous Five stories and Malory Towers books. This card from Yoto features a collection of five-minute stories from Enid Blyton, telling tales of everything from school adventures to magical mischief.

Buy Enid Blyton Five Minute Stories for £9.99 at Yoto

The Wimpy Kid Collection 2

Age rating: 9+ | Audio platform: Yoto

This Digital Writer has a vivid memory of stealing the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books from her younger sister when they went on a family holiday together, and she was almost definitely older than the recommended age group, but who cares!

Yoto has recently added three new collections from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series to its library, and each collection comes with three stories to listen to. We've included the The Wimpy Kid Collection 2 below as, unfortunately, the first one is out of stock on Yoto.

Buy The Wimpy Kid Collection 2 for £16.99 at Yoto

Harry Potter: The Complete Collection

Age rating: 7+ | Audio platform: Yoto

There are few children's book series which have proved this popular throughout the generations than Harry Potter. Just last month (in March), we learnt Yoto had added Fantastic Beasts and other Hogwarts stories to its Harry Potter collection, and you can now buy the complete collection of Harry Potter audiobooks at Yoto.

Stephen Fry will narrate the 124 hours of Harry Potter content — if that doesn't keep your kids entertained, we don't know what will! — from Harry's beginnings at Privet Drive to the final showdown in the Deathly Hallows book.

Buy Harry Potter: The Complete Collection for £185.92 £164.99 (save £20.93 or 12%) at Yoto

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Age rating: 7+ | Audio platform: Tonies

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Captain Underpants!

Parent's you've probably already heard of Captain Underpants — the world's best (and messiest) superhero. Now, the much-loved book series about Captain Underpants's adventures is available at Tonies, including classics like Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets.

Buy The Adventures of Captain Underpants for £8.99 at Tonies

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Age rating: 4+ | Audio platform: Tonies

Parenting often feels like the Michael Wayne Rosen book We're Going on a Bear Hunt; we can't go over the pile of washing, we can't go under the pile of washing, we can't go around the pile of washing, so we have to go through it!

The classic children's book We're Going on a Bear Hunt is now available as a Tonies figure to listen to on the Toniebox. The audiobook features characters Stan, Katie, Rosie, Max, the baby and their pet dog, Rufus, as they squelch through the countryside in search of bears.

Buy We're Going on a Bear Hunt for £14.99 at Tonies

The Gruffalo

Age rating: 3+ | Audio platform: Tonies

Who is this creature with terrible claws, and terrible teeth, and terrible jaws? Will the mouse survive his trip through the deep, dark wood?

We've seen The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson in book form and as an animation, and now your children can listen to the beloved story on their Toniebox.

Buy The Gruffalo for £14.99 at Tonies

Guess How Much I Love You

Age rating: 3+ | Audio platform: Audible

This beautiful children's book follows the story of a father trying to find ways to tell his son just how much he loves him. It's one that we listened to our dad tell us as children, and a story that we're excited to listen to with our children.

There are two books in the Guess How Much I Love You series, and you can purchase them both right now from £6.99 at Audible.

The BFG

It wouldn't be a children's book list without at least one mention of Roald Dahl.

One dark, moonlit night, Sophie is taken from her bed by a giant. But, don't be alarmed, the giant is the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) who, instead of crunching children's bones, prefers snozzcumbers and frobscottle. This particular audio edition is narrated by Mel Giedroyc (The Great British Bake Off), and comes with plenty of fun sound effects.

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Authors

Laura Wybrow
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