Summer Audiobooks for the Entire Family

Summer Audiobooks for the Entire Family

It’s finally summer vacation!

For many families, summertime means road trips and family vacations. And while the destination is fun, long travel times can be filled with complaints over what to listen to while traveling.

If mom and dad are happily jamming along to their favorite music, the kids are typically not happy. While endless hours of music for kids can make for grumpy parents.

I still have this song ringing through my head from long car rides with our kids. You can thank me for that later. That song is probably one reason our family turned to audiobooks for our summer car trips.

Seriously! As our kids grew, audiobooks solved sibling fighting and the endless “Are we there yet?” Our kids were often so interested in the stories they were listening to, the time traveling didn’t seem so long. We could listen to a story as a family, or we could select separate audio books. At that time I had no idea audiobooks had so many amazing benefits. I was just thankful for the enjoyable time we had together as a family.

Why not start your summer with some favorite audiobooks for your family?

Here are several audiobooks you can purchase and listen to on your way across the country, or even just down the road, that will keep everyone happy! I divided the list into titles for a variety of ages. Just select a title to fit the needs of the youngest in your group. Doing so will mean it will be age-appropriate for everyone.

And don’t worry, even older listeners will enjoy audiobooks from the younger lists!

Looking for podcasts? See my lists for Podcasts suggestions here.

Summer Audiobooks for the Entire Family

Audiobooks for Children

• Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
• Wonder (RJ Palacio) This book delves into some diversities. The little boy has facial deformities and is preparing to start a normal school with “normal” kids. This book is also becoming a movie with Julia Roberts!
• Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan) Greek Mythology comes to life with Percy Jackson and all of his friends!
• Restart (Gordon Korman) This book deals with bullying. The bully suffers memory loss in an accident. He now has a new start. Can he be changed?
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (Chris Grabenstein) This series is sort of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a library. In Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, 12 kids must find their way out of the library without the use of electronics.
• Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Peterson) Two friends create an imaginary place called Terabithia. During one trip to their imaginations, something goes horribly wrong.

Audiobooks for Teens (YA)

• Everything Everything (Nicola Yoon) YA Fiction Story about a girl who is allergic to everything. Things change when a boy moves in next door.
• Guys Read: Funny Business (edited and read by John Scieszka) Humor the entire family will be laughing at hysterically as Jon Scieszka reads ten hilarious stories from some of the funniest writers around.
• One of Us Is Lying (Karen M. McManus) A YA Romantic Mystery/Thriller. What happens when 5 strangers enter detention and only four walk out alive?
• Number the Stars (Lois Lowry) Historical Fiction in which two girls think of life before the war. 1943, life in Copenhagen, food shortages, Nazis marching through town. Jews are relocated and one girl must go on a mission to save the other’s life.
• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) Historical Fiction set in WW2 Germany. A girl steals books and shares them with neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the man hidden in her basement.
• Heartless (Marissa Meyer) YA Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts backstory.

Audiobooks for Adults

• The Shack (Wm. Paul Young) Fiction. A girl is kidnapped during her family’s vacation. There is evidence that indicates foul play could be involved in a shack deep in the woods of Oregon. Years later, her father receives a suspicious note, maybe from God, inviting him to that shack for a weekend.
• American Gods (Neil Gaiman) Fantasy. Shadow does his time, waiting to return to his home and wife in Eagle Point, Indiana. Just days before his release his wife and his best friend are killed in an accident. Shadow accepts a job from a stranger called Mr. Wednesday to be his bodyguard, driver, and errand boy.
• The Handmaid’s Tale (Special Edition) (Margaret Atwood) Fiction. Government coup ushers in a new regime. Women are now subservient. Offred is now a Handmaid who must procreate in the childless household of the Commander and his wife. She remembers when she lived with her own husband and child, and had a job, before she lost everything, including her name.
• A Darker Shade of Magic Series (VE Schwab) Fantasy. There are several Londons in this story. Magicians have a rare ability to travel between Londons. Kell, one of the last Travelers, can choose where he lands. Gray London has no magic, Red London is where magic is revered, White London is ruled by whoever murders their way to the throne, and there was once a Black London, but it is no longer spoken of.
• Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) Sci-Fi Fantasy. In the year 2044, the world has become an ugly place where the OASIS, a virtual utopia, has taken over the lives of most teens. Wade, the main character, dreams of finding the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed in the OASIS. The ticket was left by OASIS creator James Halliday and has a series of puzzles that will result in a massive fortune.

There are a few economical options for audiobooks. You can sign up for a service like audible.com. On Audible, you pay $14.95 per month and receive one free credit to purchase any book on their site for just the cost of the credit. You can also purchase additional credits, or just buy other books outright for the original cost if the cost of the book is less than the cost of the credits.

If your family uses Kindle, you can sign up for Kindle Unlimited. For just $9.99 a month you’ll get unlimited audiobooks, along with unlimited reading on any device. One thing I love about Kindle Unlimited is you can go back and forth between an audiobook and the eBook.

There are worlds out there just waiting for you to use your imagination to visit! Fantasy, Romance, Thrillers, Mystery, Suspense, Contemporaries, all waiting for you!

You really can read all those titles on your summer reading list. And, your travel time will fly by in a snap!