Audiobooks have become increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, many authors, including Dickens, wrote their books to be read aloud. There are many benefits to listening to books, especially for children.
- Audiobooks develop listening skills and comprehension skills.
- Audiobooks can help you understand complex language.
- Children with learning disabilities are able to keep pace with their peers.
- Listening to audiobooks offers fewer distractions than reading print.
- Many narrators, especially for books for toddlers are very creative in their audiobooks, which makes them very entertaining for both kids and adults.
- Audiobooks increase word exposure and improve vocabulary.
- Audiobooks build background knowledge.
- Audiobooks reduce the working-memory deficit.
- Audiobooks remove printed word decoding anxiety.
There are numerous good audiobooks for toddlers out there and this article samples some of the best ones you may want to listen to with your toddler. And don’t forget the accompanying printed book!
Affiliate Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links where I earn a commission if you make a purchase. However this in no way affects my recommendation. If I recommended the book, I have actually read it (or listened to it) and liked it!
1. The Cat in the Hat, narrated by Kelsey Grammer and others
There are many actors narrating in this audiobook which makes it really exciting to listen to. They bring the story to life in an amazingly real set up. It is a great audiobook for a long road trip with your toddlers. This is one of a series of audiobooks.
2. Fuzzy Wuzzy, narrated by Jim Selleck
Little bear does not listen to his mother’s instructions and he almost ends up getting eaten by the big bad wolf. Will he outwit the wolf and survive the wild?
3. The Gruffalo, narrated by Hal Hollings
Every other animal is looking to eat this little mouse. He has to come up with an idea to protect himself. That is how he comes up with the idea of gruffalo, which scares other animals away. The book which gave birth to this audiobook is a great read-aloud one and hence this makes the audiobook even more interesting.
4. How to Train Your Dragon, narrated by David Tennant
A spin-off the popular movie sequel by the same name, this is an audiobook your kids will love. It is the story of Hiccups Horrendous Haddock III who is a reluctant Viking and a dragon trainer. How he manages to pull this off only God knows but this is a hilarious and interesting audiobook.
5. Where the Wild Things Are, narrated by Peter Schickele
When a young boy is sent to his room without food, he decides to rebel and runs away from home. His journey will form one exciting story your toddlers will love.
6. Monkey Puzzle, narrated by Imelda Stauton
This story is about a monkey who loses his mother and sets out to look for her, with the help of a little butterfly friend. What follows is one intriguing and exciting escapade.
7. Little House in the Big Woods, narrated by Chery Jones
This is an award-winning audiobook that follows the story of Laura and her family who live in the woods. They seem quite content with the life they lead and nothing much is exciting until the Christmas season comes along.
8. Frog and Toad, narrated by Arnold Lobel
The two friends are into all sorts of mischief your toddler will love. This is an audiobook in a series of other collections.
9. Nate the Great and Monster Mess, narrated by John Lavelle
When Nate receives a call from Annie, he activated his detective instincts. It is a good detective audiobook that has beautiful twists.
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, narrated by Eric Idle
Five kids go out to explore Mr. Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory and what follows is an exciting and thrilling story that makes this audiobook worthy to listen to.
The benefits of listening to audiobooks are many. When a child struggles to read at the benchmark, this hardship can continue into the elementary and middle grades because as they move up in school, reading because reading educationally requires learning new information and new content. Providing your toddler access to human-read audiobooks can support their reading skill development, ultimately improving vocabulary, comprehension and critical thinking skills.
