A family road trip is a great way to create lasting memories, but it can be a challenge to pass the time, especially when traveling with little ones.
Whether you’re embarking on a long cross-country adventure or just a quick weekend getaway, audiobooks are a great way to fill a few hours on the open road. We’ve handpicked a variety of audiobooks from the Naperville Public Library collection that cater to different ages and listening times so that there’s something for every member of the family to enjoy. From beloved classics with your child’s favorite silly old bear to wild adventures alongside demigods and monsters, these audiobooks are the perfect companions for your next adventure.
So, buckle up and get ready — your next road trip just got a whole lot more fun!
For Your Littlest Passengers
“Frog and Toad” by Arnold Lobel (1.5 hours): Celebrate the power of friendship with Frog and Toad as they fly a kite, resist the temptation of cookies and search for a lost button. No matter what kind of situation they find themselves in, one thing is certain: Frog and Toad will always be together.
“Beatrix Potter: The Collection” by Beatrix Potter (3.5 hours): Enjoy all 23 original tales by beloved author Beatrix Potter, including the Tales of Peter Rabbit, the Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester and more!
“The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh” by A. A. Milne (4.5 hours): Three cheers for Pooh bear! Join in on the adventures of Winnie the Pooh, his boy Christopher Robin and all the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood!
For Your Early Elementary Passengers
“Stuart Little” by E. B. White (2 hours): Stuart Little is a shy, philosophical little mouse with a big heart and a taste for adventure. Stuart sets forth into the world with some mighty big plans: to ride a Fifth Avenue bus, to win a sailboat race in Central Park, to teach school for a day and to find his best friend Margalo! Climbing into his tiny car, Stuart hits the open road, sure he’s heading in the right direction, only to find himself in for a big surprise.
“The Mouse and the Motorcycle” (2.25 hours): When the ever-curious mouse Ralph spots Keith’s red toy motorcycle, he vows to ride it. So, when Keith leaves the bike unattended in his room one day, Ralph makes his move. But with all this freedom (and speed!) come a lot of obstacles. Luckily, with a pal like Keith always looking out for him, there’s nothing this little mouse can’t handle.
“The Big Friendly Giant” by Roald Dahl (4.5 hours): The Big Friendly Giant is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and it’s lucky for Sophie that he is. When Sophie hears that the giants are headed to England to steal some little children, she and the BFG decide they must stop them once and for all.
For Your Older Elementary Passengers
“Holes” by Louis Sachar (4.5 hours): Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys “build character” by spending all day, every day, digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
“Gregor the Overlander” by Suzanne Collins (6.5 hours): When 11-year-old Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cockroaches and rats–but the fragile peace is about to fall apart. When Gregor discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland’s uncertain future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life.
More Top Picks Hula Hoops
“The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan (10 hours): Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be expelled from boarding school — again. But when his pre-algebra teacher turns into a monster, Percy’s life takes a dramatic turn. Soon, he’s on the run from a Minotaur and discovers that the gods of Mount Olympus are real—and they’ve got a problem with him. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt and has just ten days to retrieve it. Along with his friends, a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena, Percy embarks on a dangerous road trip to the Underworld, facing monsters and uncovering betrayals that could change everything he thought he knew about his father and the gods.
“Echo” by Pam Munoz Ryan (10.5 hours): Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise and a harmonica. Decades later, three children–Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania and Ivy in California–find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.
Ashlee Conour is the marketing specialist at Naperville Public Library.