Audiobooks for kids: how to choose by age and moment, and where to borrow them free

By Raluca Baciu

Co-founder of Wunderli

Updated 27 October 2026

The best audiobooks for kids are the ones that fit the moment you play them in: a short story that ends for bedtime, a whole book for a long drive, something your child already knows from paper for the very young. In the UK and Ireland you rarely need to buy them, because your public library lends eAudiobooks free through an app such as BorrowBox or Libby.

Every free source below was checked on its own site on 27 October 2026, and the BBC part comes with a catch for families in Ireland.

Choosing by age

Age tells you roughly how long a child can follow one voice and how many characters they can keep apart. Treat the bands loosely. What holds attention in your house matters more.

Siblings of different ages are the usual complication. On a shared listen, pitch it at the younger one and let the older one pick the next book.

Choosing by moment

Bedtime. Pick something that ends. A chapter that stops on a cliffhanger leads to bargaining for one more, and a series that runs straight into the next episode keeps going after you have left the room. Calm stories with a settled ending are collected in bedtime stories for kids.

The car. This is where long audiobooks earn their place. The whole car follows one story without a screen, and a stop at a service station makes the natural break. Download before you leave, since signal on a motorway is patchy.

A quiet afternoon or a sick day. A book they have heard before is fine here. Children often want the familiar one again when they are tired, and that is not a reason to steer them elsewhere.

If you are deciding between a full audiobook and a shorter audio story, audio stories for children sorts the formats by situation.

Where to get audiobooks free, legally

Your library app (UK and Ireland)

Library eAudiobooks are the largest free collection most families can reach. BorrowBox, run by Bolinda Digital, sets out the route in five steps: join your local public library, install the app, select your library service, activate it with your membership, then borrow. Libby, the library app by OverDrive, says thousands of public libraries offer ebooks and audiobooks free in it. Which of the two your library uses depends on the service, so check your council's library page first. In England and Wales, GOV.UK will point you to your council from a postcode.

In Ireland, Libraries Ireland states that public library membership is completely free of charge for everyone in Ireland, at any age, though under-18s need a parent's or guardian's permission. You can start the form online and finish it at a branch with photo ID and proof of address. The eLibrary page lists eAudiobooks among the free online services, reached through your county's library service.

BBC Sounds (UK only)

The Children's section of BBC Sounds is not audiobooks in the strict sense, but it covers a lot of the same ground for younger listeners: CBeebies Bedtime Stories, readings of Winnie-the-Pooh and The Tales of Beatrix Potter, and calm sound tracks for winding down. It is a UK service now. The BBC says BBC Sounds has closed for listeners based outside the UK, while UK residents can keep using it on holiday abroad for around a month.

RTÉ Kids (Ireland)

For families in Ireland, RTÉ Kids podcasts are sorted into podcasts for under-7s and for 7 and over, with a stories section and several series in Irish.

Three checks before you press play

Ads. Free does not always mean ad-free. The BBC, for example, has included advertising on podcasts delivered outside the UK since 2018. Listen to the first minute yourself on any new podcast feed.

What plays next. Find out what the app does when a chapter or episode ends. Many players carry on to the next one, which is handy in the car and unhelpful at bedtime. Look for the setting that turns continuous play off.

What the app asks for. Library apps sign in with your library card, which is the parent's or one you set up together. Be wary of any app that wants your child's own email address, a profile photo or location to play a story.

When the story you want is not on the shelf

Sometimes the request is oddly specific: a story about a fox who runs a bakery, with the hero carrying your child's name. No library holds that one. Wunderli is for those evenings. With your child, you shape characters, world and mood from their ideas in six steps, and Wunderli writes the story and narrates it with several narration voices, in English, German or French, at 10+, 15+ or 20+ minutes. There are no third-party ads and no ad tracking, and nothing autoplays when the story ends. The first story is free, and you listen in the app.

It sits alongside the library, not in place of it. The six steps are shown in how Wunderli works.

If you have a Toniebox or Yoto player

A borrowed audiobook stays inside the library app. It is a loan, not a file you own, and tonies lists streaming services such as Audible as not supported on Creative Tonies, while Yoto says Make Your Own cards are for content you own in MP3 or AAC/M4A (both checked 27 October 2026). What does go on a blank figure or card is set out in Creative Tonies explained and Yoto Make Your Own cards. Saving a Wunderli story as an MP3 for private family use is coming soon; the waitlist near the top of this page is where we will announce it.

BorrowBox is a trademark of Bolinda Digital; Libby and OverDrive are trademarks of OverDrive, Inc.; BBC, BBC Sounds and CBeebies are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation; RTÉ is a trademark of Raidió Teilifís Éireann; tonies®, Toniebox and Creative Tonie are trademarks of tonies; Yoto is a trademark of Yoto Ltd; Audible is a trademark of its owner. Wunderli has no business connection with any of them.

Frequently asked questions