The Most Listened To Children’s Audiobooks in our Audible Library
We’ve been Audible members for years and both Bart and I frequently use our credits to buy audiobooks we think the whole family will enjoy.
Each of our girls has an Alexa Echo Dot in their room so they can listen screen free to Audible books at bedtime or while they play in their rooms.
Here are the children’s audiobook titles that have gotten a LOT of playtime over the years and been WELL worth the credit!
(P.S. Right now there is an Audible deal going on where you can get three free months – no catch!)
The Most Listened To Children’s Audiobooks in our Audible Library
The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett
3 hours 22 minutes
This is hands-down the most listened to series in our home. We have all four books in the series and I’m pretty sure every one of my kids could recite them from memory. When Miles moves to Yawnee Valley, he is not happy. He’s leaving behind the ocean, best friends, and his reputation as a fantastic prankster. Even worse, his boring new town has only two things – cows and a prankster of its own. You know an epic prank war is the only way through.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
5 hours 27 minutes
This is a close second for the most-listened to audiobooks. All four of my girls have listened to both of these books a bazillion times and raved about it so much I finally listened last year! Moving is never fun, but it’s especially unpleasant for Aven who was born without arms. A new town and school means she’ll have to explain herself repeatedly to a bunch of strangers. But in her new town, she make friends with Conner, who also feels like an outsider in their school. And together, they embark on solving a mystery at the dilapidated theme park her parents are running.
Savvy by Ingrid Law
6 hours 16 minutes
I listened to this one more than a decade ago when it first came out and then read it to the girls a few years ago and now they’ve listened to all three books in the series dozens of times. It’s a Newbery Honor book about the Beaumont family who all get a “savvy” when they turn thirteen. A savvy is a supernatural power and they’re all different (some more useful than others)”. Mibs has been waiting for years for her thirteenth birthday but just before the big day, her beloved father is in a terrible accident and now Mibs only hope is that her savvy will be something that can save him. (Full review here)
Keepers of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
12 hours 40 minutes
For me, it’s no Harry Potter but my girls are OBSESSED with this series and have listened to all the books multiple times, from my 13 year old down to my 6 year old. Sophie doesn’t fit in at school or in her family, in part because she can read minds. Then she meets a boy who has the same powers she does and it turns out there are a lot of secrets about herself and the world around her that she doesn’t know. But she’s going to find out pretty quickly!
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
10 hours 7 minutes
This was one of the very first books I ever wrote about on Everyday Reading and it’s still one of my all-time favorites. It’s a full-cast audio performance and our whole family loves Shannon Hale’s writing. All four books in the series are TERRIFIC and my older girls have LOVED listening to the whole series (most of them are included in Audible Plus and then I bought the final book in the series for them). (Full review here.)
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson
8 hours 14 minutes
Sage is a young orphan boy who is taken in by a devious nobleman who is selecting orphans to impersonate the prince of Carthya to prevent a civil war. Ella was such a fan that she begged Bart to listen to it after she finished and had the best time listening to him make predictions about the story and now all three of my older girls have loved and re-listened to this series on repeat.
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
12 hours 42 minutes
My husband and now my two oldest daughters are HUGE Brandon Sanderson fans. In this trilogy, 18-year-old David joins the Reckoners, a group trying to get rid of super power wielding humans known as Epics. After witnessing his father’s death at the hands of an Epic, he is ready to end their tyranny.
The Genius Files by Dan Gutman
6 hours 8 minutes
In this fun novel, Coke and Pepsi have to evade their crazed health teacher and two guys in bowler hats by accomplishing some pretty crazy feats. Jumping off cliffs, escaping their burning school and jumping off sand dunes are just a few of the challenges they face in this thrilling tale. Several of these are titles are included in Audible Plus and they’ve been huge hits.
Wayside School by Louis Sachar
2 hours 26 minutes
All four of my girls have listened to these stories many many times on audio about Wayside School where everything is a little (okay, lot) weird. The chapters are more episodic so that’s nice if you’re starting and stopping a lot. Plus, there is also Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger and Wayside School is Falling Down.These are perfect audiobooks for younger listeners because they’re not too long and very episodic.
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
2 hours 41 minutes
I loved this series as a child and then Ella listened to them on CD and then Audible dozens of times over the years. They just never get old with childhood bad habits (staying up too late, picky eating, etc) getting cured by Mrs. Piggle Wiggle’s inventive cures. All of my kids have LOVED this series and it’s the most often requested when my girls are sad or we’re away from home – total comfort listening for them.
Stuck by Chris Grabenstein
3 hours 12 minutes
You probably know Grabenstein from his very popular Mr. Lemoncello’s Library books. This is an Audible original about a boy who makes a wish to never grow up and stays at age 11 as everyone grows up around him. Ani (age 11) especially loves this one and has listened to it at least a dozen times.
The Wright Cousin Adventures by Gregory O. Smith
3 hours 29 minutes
This is a fun western adventure series with a modern twist (it definitely gives me Boxcar Children vibes!). I got the first one for Ani several years ago and now we own the whole series which my kids have listened to over and over again about a set of cousins that search for lost treasure, explore abandoned mines, and solve mysteries.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this kids audiobook list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
I’d love to hear which kids audiobooks have been most popular in your home!
if you liked this post about our favorite kids audiobooks, you might also like these other posts:
- 15+ Best Audiobooks for Kindergarteners and Preschoolers
- 13 Tips for Getting Into Audiobooks
- My Favorite Kids Headphones
Thanks for this list! I am looking for some new audiobook options for my kids. There is a 4th Wayside book – The Cloud of Doom! I think it came out in 2020. Hope your girls enjoy it!
I think we actually own that one! The general consensus from my children was that it was not nearly as good as the other three and they haven’t returned to it, so it does not garner “most listened to” status at our house, sadly.
Have your kids listened to The Bark of the Bog Owl? That has been our very favorite family listen! There are a couple on your list we haven’t listened to that I’m going to have to check out. Thanks for the list.
We love your lists! Thanks for sharing. Our family has loved all the James Ponti books we have listened to—specifically the City Spies and Framed series.
Thank you! I’m curious if you have age recommendations for each of these.
For our kids, they’ve been good fits somewhere between 3-12 but it’s going to depend so much on your own child and their comfort level with audiobooks (if you have a 6 year old who has never listened to audiobooks, it’s going to be very different from a child who started listening to audiobooks regularly at 3!).