22 Best Audiobooks for Family Road Trips

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

If you’ve been wondering why they don’t write children’s books like they used to, you’ll be enchanted by Jeanne Birdsall’s award-winning novels about a quirky family of motherless girls, their Latin-spouting botanist father and their irrepressible dog, Hound. Hailed as an instant classic when it came out in 2005, the first book in The Penderwicks series takes the family to their summer guesthouse rental on Arundel, a fancy estate where a very nice boy lives with his snobby mother. The estate (and the Penderwicks) will never be the same again. It’s one of the best book series for families, and narrator Susan Denaker reads them with just the right balance between expression and understatement.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Restart by Gordon Korman and Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

The author of more than 50 novels for young readers, Gordon Korman knows how to tell a good tale. In his latest for 2024, Faker, young Trey lives in a family of scammers—and it’s his job to make friends in his new school so his dad can con their parents into buying into one of his schemes. Captivating and thought-provoking, this middle-grade book comes alive through the thoroughly entertaining voice of Christopher Gebauer and is a great way to get your kids to read more books this summer.

Genre: Historical fiction

For fans of: The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Curtis and Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen

If you’ve got kids in middle school or just starting high school, this is one of the best YA books to read together. Published in 2019, Inventing Victoria begins in late 1800s Savannah. A young Black woman, Essie, meets a lady named Dorcas Vashon—the most cultured Black woman she’s ever met—who makes Essie an offer she can’t refuse. So begins the story of Essie’s transformation into Victoria: She gets a new wardrobe, a high-class education and lessons in etiquette. Once Victoria finds herself at the top of society, she must decide if this is really the life she wants to live.

Genre: Historical fiction

For fans of: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia and A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem by Christopher Healy

The notorious gangster Al Capone has a recurring cameo role in Gennifer Choldenko’s acclaimed historical fiction book series Tales From Alcatraz, which begins with 2004’s Al Capone Does My Shirts. It’s set at the Rock, the infamous prison island off San Francisco, in 1935, but the real action takes place among the crazy crowd of kids whose families live and work on Alcatraz. The narrator, Kirby Heyborne, sounds like a young boy from our time, which makes Choldenko’s protagonist, young Moose Flanagan, even easier to relate to. He simultaneously looks after his sister, who has autism, plays as much baseball as possible and tries to stay out of the dangerous schemes hatched by the warden’s daughter.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: An Occasionally Happy Family by Cliff Burke and Ocean Meets Sky by Terry Fan and Eric Fan

If there’s anything better than being on a road trip, it’s listening to an audiobook about a road trip while you’re on a road trip! In the 2019 middle-grade book The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, Coyote, who lives in a school bus with her father, needs to convince him to drive 3,600 miles in four days to save a memory box she once stashed in a park in her old hometown that’s about to be demolished. Narrated by Audie Awards finalist Kristine Hvam, this book is at once a fun adventure and a gorgeous story about grief, love and found family. If your family enjoys it, make sure you don’t miss the sequel, Coyote Lost and Found, which came out in 2024.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Blended by Sharon M. Draper and A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

A 2019 coming-of-age story that grapples with race and identity, For Black Girls Like Me tells the tale of Makeda June Kirkland, an 11-year-old Black girl who was adopted by a White family. Makeda loves her parents and big sister, but she often feels left out and like she doesn’t really fit in. Her family then uproots her life when they move from Maryland to New Mexico. She finds that everything is different in her new home, and it leaves her wondering what her life would be like if she grew up in a family that looked like her. There is some heavy material in the book, including an attempted suicide, so parents should use caution; still, it’s one of the best books by Black authors.

“Imani Parks is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and who better to do justice to the lyrical writing of Mariama J. Lockington?” says librarian Strolle. “This book is a perfect family audiobook to listen to because it serves as a great conversation starter.”

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani and Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

It’s no accident that J.K. Rowling’s blockbuster Harry Potter series, first published in 1998, has enjoyed such tremendous international success for decades: The boy wizard’s adventures are by turns funny, scary, touching and always absorbing. There are two audio versions, both by English actors, but we prefer the Grammy- and Audie-winning narration by Jim Dale, who comes up with an amazing array of voices for Rowling’s many characters. One caveat: Although lots of small children do read them all, the series gets darker with the fifth book, so the last three books might be best suited for readers over 12. You also can access all the Harry Potter audiobooks on Spotify too.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Wish by Barbara O’Connor and Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

The 2020 middle-grade novel Believe is an inspiring coming-of-age story about imagination, friendship and one girl’s journey to reconnect with her long-lost mother. Melanie doesn’t quite fit in and escapes through her very active imagination. When she finally finds a friend, she starts to believe in herself—but be prepared for a couple of surprising twists before her story is over. Narrated by the author herself, the audiobook appeals to children and adults alike: Grown-ups will love its 1980s nostalgia, and kids will relate to the themes of friendship and the quest for belonging.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Dear Martin by Nic Stone

In the 2019 YA novel Watch Us Rise, high schoolers Jasmine and Chelsea become fed up with the way women are treated and start a Women’s Rights Club, where they post poems, essays and Jasmine’s thoughts on the racial microaggressions she’s experienced online. The popularity of their club leads to internet trolls attacking them, so the principal shuts it down—but these two young women continue to fight to be heard. This is one of the best audiobooks for family road trips because it’s an inspirational book for teen listeners and will spark great conversation after you finish listening as a family.

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and Sabriel by Garth Nix

If you don’t already know Philip Pullman’s brilliant, beautiful 1996 fantasy series, His Dark Materials, it’s time to get acquainted. One of the best fantasy book series you’ll ever read, it starts with The Golden Compass, which features the fierce, indomitable orphan child Lyra Belacqua and is set in a world in which all humans have a “daemon,” a semi-autonomous animal companion that contains their soul. This full-cast narrative production led by Pullman himself is one of the best audiobooks for family road trips—and may even keep you in the driveway listening after you reach your destination. Pullman’s lyrical writing style and the story’s intense struggle between good and evil make the books best suited to readers 10 and up.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Ramona Quimby by Beverly Cleary and Frindle by Andrew Clements

The first book in the Fudge series was published in 1972 and has been keeping kids and adults entertained ever since. Beloved author Judy Blume reads aloud her hilarious books about the beleaguered Peter Hatcher and his kooky little brother, Fudge. Our favorite is the fourth, Fudge-a-Mania, which takes place in Maine, where Fudge moisturizes his baseball glove with Mom’s Oil of Olay and plans to marry Peter’s nemesis, Sheila Tubman (ew!). But start with the first, Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing, and you won’t be disappointed. The beauty of these books is that although they’re simple enough for kindergartners to understand, they’re so funny and realistic that older listeners can’t help getting engaged as well.

Genre: Historical fiction

For fans of: The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day and The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

After he’s sent away to England to escape Nazi Germany, a young Jewish boy named Max will do anything it takes to find his way back home to his parents, and he thinks he’s figured out how: He’s going to become a British spy. Complex, authentic and thoroughly entertaining, 2024’s Max in the House of Spies, narrated by the talented Euan Morton, will keep your family captivated for hours, making it one of the best audiobooks for family road trips. It’s also an age-appropriate Holocaust book to introduce the topic to kids.

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: The Academy by T.Z. Layton and The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Kwame Mbalia’s epic 2019 fantasy book brings to life a world of African American folk heroes and West African gods. The titular character of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky can’t get over not being able to save his best friend, Eddie, when they were in a bus accident. The only thing Tristan has left to remember him is his notebook. To help him heal, his parents send him to his grandparents in Alabama. On his first night there, a creature sneaks into Tristan’s window and steals Eddie’s notebook. In his quest to get the notebook back, he opens a chasm into the fantasy world of MidPass. Follow along with his heroic journey to return to the real world.

“I cannot fully articulate the look on middle schoolers’ faces when I pitch this book to them, asking them if they’ve ever had an emotional day and if they’ve ever accidentally punched a tree and opened a pass to a world of mythology and folklore,” says Strolle. “This book provides them, as it did me, with an absolutely wild ride while also artfully exploring the mind of a tween dealing with grief and loss.”

Genre: Classic fiction

For fans of: Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss and The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne

You may have to pause to explain some old-fashioned words here and there, but listening to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is pure family fun. After all, the story is the stuff childhood fantasies are made of. The 1883 classic novel follows the tale of a boy who finds a map to buried treasure and sails on an expedition to find it. It’s an enthralling roller coaster ride complete with pirates, parrots, one-legged men and plot twists. Hearing the pirate-speak in the audio version really makes Long John Silver, Billy Bones, the Black Dog and the rest of the crew come to life.

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

There’s something so perfect about listening to a story about the magic of reading aloud, especially when the reader is the celebrated late actress Lynn Redgrave. In German author Cornelia Funke’s 2003 international bestseller, Inkheart, “silvertongues” can bring characters and creatures out of books just by reciting the prose. Sometimes these literary fish-out-of-waters are miserable in our world; other times, they’re thrilled—as is often the case with the villains, and Funke excels at those. We also love the other two magical realism books in the original trilogy, Inkspell and Inkdeath, although the latter is best suited to listeners over age 11.

Love the series? Here’s some good news: Funke came out with a surprise fourth book, Inkworld: The Color of Revenge, which is available in the United States in November 2024. So stay tuned for the audiobook!

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: The Insiders by Mark Oshiro and Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

What do you get when you take a group of kids who don’t fit in and put them in a secret “reforming arts” school? An elite group of crime-fighting misfits, of course! Your family will be laughing out loud at the antics of The Misfits and hanging on to every word as they try to stop a major heist. It’s the perfect lighthearted book to bring on vacation. This delightful 2024 middle-grade novel, narrated by Cindy Kay, is the start of a new series, so if you love the first book, you can pick up the sequel for family road trips in the years to come.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed and Front Desk by Kelly Yang

In the 2019 Newbery Honor book Other Words for Home, Jude and her mother have to leave Syria and move to the United States, leaving her brother and father behind and moving in with relatives in Cincinnati. The story follows Jude on her journey to navigate an unfamiliar, fast new world where she’s given the identity Middle Eastern, something she’s never been called before. This critically acclaimed children’s book about diversity is a wonderful way to start conversations with your kids.

“One of my favorite middle-grade books of all time, Other Words for Home is told in beautiful verse, crafting a highly emotional story,” says Strolle. “I think Jude’s story of feeling out of place is something all kids can relate to, and it’s no surprise it was just the start of a fabulous career in middle grade for Jasmine Warga.”

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

The late, great Roald Dahl reads five of his famous children’s stories from the 1960s and ’70s—including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr. Fox—in his deliciously dramatic, distinctive English accent. The lively reading of some of the best children’s books of all time shows Dahl clearly enjoying his vivid characters and unexpected plot twists, from James’s giant peach bobbing across the Atlantic Ocean to the Enormous Crocodile’s “secret plans and clever tricks” to eat a nice, juicy child (that somehow always fail). Die-hard Dahl fans who are stocking up for a really long car trip should also get hold of Matilda as read by Kate Winslet, who does a great job bringing the precocious character and the atrocious adults to life.

Genre: Mythology/fantasy

For fans of: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger and Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Rick Riordan introduced a whole generation to the joys of Greek mythology books in 2005 with the Percy Jackson series, starting with book one, The Lightning Thief. The funny, clever, irreverent retelling of myths about the hero Perseus (Percy, Perseus, get it?) work beautifully as read-alouds. Some of our favorite details may go over your children’s heads—such as when the elevator to Olympus, home of the weather god Zeus, plays a Muzak version of “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”—but we guarantee everyone in the car will be both laughing and sitting on the edge of their seats.

“The Lightning Thief released when I was in middle school, and though I didn’t read—and love—the series until I was in college, it was formative to a lot of my friends,” says Strolle. “Now, at the library I work at, it’s been such a delight to watch kids discover the series all over again, especially now that there is such a plethora in the world to discover: the musical adaptation, the two films, the currently running TV show, the shelves full of world-expanding spinoffs…”

And speaking of spinoffs, families embarking on particularly long road trips may want to bring those along too. Listening to Riordan’s other mythological series would probably take you cross-country and back.

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren and The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

If you’ve never met Barbara Robinson’s funny, rotten, larcenous family of dramatically under-supervised children who never saw an event they didn’t want to take over, you’re in for a treat. Our favorite of Robinson’s novels is 1971’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in which the Herdmans commandeer all the leading roles, smoke cigars in the church bathroom and insist on supplementing the gifts of the Magi with a whole ham. The late Elaine Stritch’s raspy, brassy voice is wonderfully well-suited to narrate the rollicking storylines of this great Christmas book for kids. It’s one of the best audiobooks for family road trips—especially around the holidays!

Genre: Fiction

For fans of: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Your kids might already be familiar with Kate DiCamillo’s heartwarming, heartfelt 2000 story Because of Winn-Dixie from the book to movie adaptation—but as usual, the novel is deeper and richer than the on-screen version. Young India Opal, whose itinerant preacher father moves too frequently for her to make friends, finally finds community in Naomi, Texas, when she adopts a stray dog at the local supermarket. This middle-grade classic lends itself well to being read aloud, especially by the author herself and others, including an introduction by fellow writer Ann Patchett.

“Kate DiCamillo is a name almost synonymous with children’s literature,” says Strolle, “and this, along with The Tale of Despereaux, is one of my favorites of hers! Dog stories (especially when I know the dog is going to be OK) are a classic journey, and Winn-Dixie is one that leaves me smiling every single time I journey back to it.”

Genre: Fantasy

For fans of: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

One of the great joys of audiobooks is sharing old favorites like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—first published in 1900—with your kids. If you loved plucky Dorothy Gale, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion, the assorted witches, the flying monkeys, the Munchkins and other magical inhabitants of Oz, your family can discover this American fairy tale all over again together. This fabulous new recording is narrated by Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway, who was nominated for an Audie Award for her reading. The story will while away the time so well that, by the end, you may disagree that “there’s no place like home.”

Source:

• Rachel Strolle, children’s librarian and the teen services coordinator for a Chicago-area library; interview, July 2024