History Audiobooks For Kids
Top 10 History Audiobooks For Kids!
Welcome back to the “Top 10 Teaching History Helps” series!
Who doesn’t need a little help teaching ?!
I’m here to help!! And I found so many exciting resources this month, that there are DOUBLE (and some!) the Top 10 History Helps in this post!! I’m so excited to share my Top 21 FAVORITE History Audiobooks (or Audio History Series) for kids!
Why Audiobooks?
I could easily do an entire post on why Audiobooks are beneficial for learning! Whether you have a crowd of auditory learners in your bunch, or not, the skills that LISTENING to read alouds builds (in all ages!) is pretty amazing! Think vocabulary, comprehension, attention, imagination, retention of information, language/speaking skills, etc. On top of that, and perhaps one of the most important benefits of having your family listen to Audiobooks, is that it builds an appreciation of, and the ENJOYMENT of books! If you have a wiggly kid in your crew, or one that struggles with reading, LISTENING to a book may be what keeps that child from deciding that they dislike reading and books altogether!
And for our family at least, Audiobooks have seriously been a lifesaver at times. While the daily schedule of children at public school may be very set, the daily schedules of children who learn at home tend to be more of a rhythm than an hour by hour schedule. Learning at home is just a part of the natural flow of life. And in life, things happen.
Dentist appointments, sickness, moves, travel, needs of family and friends, sunny days, snowy days, need a break days… And this is where audiobooks come in as a WONDERFUL “History Help”!
How can Audiobooks help with history?
Really, these read aloud resources can be used for pretty much any subject you might be studying, but as we’ve seen, history pretty much covers all other areas!
Look over your planned book list for the year. Choose a few of those books, download the read aloud to your phone or computer, and save them for “a rainy day”… or a busy day, or a day of driving, or while you’re playing at the beach in September when everyone else has gone back to school 😀
Audiobooks are great reinforcements for what you are studying in History!
I have lots and lots of recommendations for books to reinforce each week’s studies in my Free Curriculum.
You can find them listed in those posts, and also in the booklists! ( I listed these below in #10 of the second list!)
Choose a few super Historical Fiction choices and use them to round out the understanding of the era you’re covering! Friends I know listened to a book every night while mom was cooking dinner, and enjoyed discussing it at the table.
There are tons of creative ideas!
Audiobooks are also a great tool for rest times.
Our family all took an afternoon siesta. An hour or so to be quiet and alone. I often let each child choose to read (or listen) to a book during this time. It really did help with calming the crazies… mine especially.
We’ve also done an Audiobook rest time when I had a little baby to care for. This was the sweetest family time. Curl up on the couch and listen together!
What’s The Difference Between Audiobooks and Podcasts?
You may be wondering if there’s much of a difference between some of the Podcasts I listed in the post, Top 10 History Podcasts For Kids, and the History Audiobooks For Kids lists you’ll find below. The main difference is that Audiobooks are simply complete books read aloud and recorded. Podcasts are usually hosted by a narrator and tend to be much shorter conversations, stories, or commentary. Both are great tools for bringing history to life, and can be a great way to add something different to your daily studies!
In case you’re just jumping in and this is the first post you are reading…
What are these Top 10 posts about?
In a nutshell, these posts are QUICK, EASY, NO PREP NEEDED suggestions to help you and your family learn History the FUN WAY!!!
You can read all about the reasons I created the ‘Top 10 History Helps’ series in the first post, Top 10 History Podcasts For Kids. Each part of the Top 10 series will pair perfectly with the FREE Ancient History Curriculum series, the FREE American History Curriculum series, and also the FREE American History (American Girl) Unit Studies series.
And last note!
This post contains just a few affiliate links. There will NOT be any additional charge to you if you click to Amazon through these links, but I will make a small commission if you do! So thanks ahead for supporting my work ! 🙂
FREE AUDIOBOOKS ?!?
There were so many great resources for this post, but not all were FREE. So since you know I mostly try to keep everything FREE, I decided to do a Top 10 FREE History Audiobooks For Kids… and also a Top 10 PAID List.
Before we jump in, I also want to recommend a really great resource called Audible.
Think of it as part of your homeschooling curriculum cost each year. If you’re not sure your family will like audiobooks so much, or you don’t want to pay up front, you can sign up and try this for free for 30 days on Amazon. There are a HUGE amount of Audiobooks for children available, and it looks like everything is FREE during your trial!
Now, on to the FUN!
**TOP 10 FREE History Audiobooks For Kids**
#1- Living Books For World Changers
So I guess technically though some of these aren’t solely “audio” books, but also include illustrations, this series was so good I had to include it, and give it the first spot in my list! The name of this channel (on YouTube) is exactly what it sounds like. Excellent books, with characters and events from history that will inspire your children to be world changers in this generation! They even include a video explanation about what Living Books are!
The Biographies Playlist is especially good to check out.
You’ll find titles such as “Eric The Red & Leif The Lucky”, “Out of Darkness: Louis Braille”, “What Should I do?”, “William Carey: Bearer of Good News”, “Genius of the Twentieth Century: Albert Einstein”.
Other playlists especially good for history are:
Christian Missionary Stories Playlist
Sunlight Curriculum Playlist
Other Playlists
#2- Your Story Hour Audio
If you aren’t familiar with this series, just ask a veteran homeschooler! This tried and true series has been bringing history and other wonderful character building stories to life for years! You can read a little more about “Your Story Hour” in “How It All Started“.
You can also find a SUPER History Timeline listing their stories under each period of history!
Just a note that not all of their recordings are free. They do have a fun “Kids Corner” with free activities as well!
You can also listen to LOTS of free recordings on their “Your Story Hour” YouTube channel!
Amos Fortune, Man of Honor
Soup, Soap, and Salvation: The Story of William Booth
#3- Historical American Girl Books: All For the Dolls
This channel is a wonderful resource if you are working through my Free American Girl History Unit Studies!
I just recently stumbled across it, and I think you’ll love it. The lovely lady reading these books (sorry I couldn’t find her name!!) does an outstanding job giving historical background and other details at the start of each new book, without bogging listeners down with too much information. She shows each doll at the beginning of the videos as well which makes the presentation extra nice!
American Girl Kaya’s Playlist
American Girl Felicity’s Playlist
American Girl Caroline’s Playlist
American Girl Josefina’s Playlist
American Girl Marie-Grace’s Playlist
American Girl Cecile’s Playlist
#4- Internet Grandpa (YouTube)
If you wish your children’s grandparents were able to come read some great books to your family, but they aren’t able to do that, this might be the next best thing 🙂
Internet Grandpa has some EXCELLENT playlists ! I’m guessing perhaps that his grands are either homeschooled or attending a classical school as many of his playlists are books from Classical Conversations rotations! You’ll find lots of historical fiction, classic literature selections, children’s books (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!), Bible stories, and other read alouds on this channel as well, so be sure to explore the menu!
+The American Experience Storybook Playlist
+Historical Fiction Playlist
(Includes books like “Carry On Mr. Bowditch”, “Ben and Me”, “Number the Stars”, “The Bronze Bow”, etc)
+Magic Treehouse Playlist
+The Life of Frederick Douglass Playlist
#5- Spotify Audiobook Playlists For Kids
You can either use the free version of Spotify or the Subscription (no ads) to find TONS of great Audiobooks for kids!
Here are a few of my history favorites on Spotify!
*The ‘I Survived’ History Series (by Lauren Tarshis)
(You’ll find quite a few of the audiobooks here that I have listed as resources in my American History Booklist!!
*Star Room Read Alouds
(You can find LOTS of the Magic Treehouse books here! Also non-history classics like ‘Ramona & Beezus’ and ‘Chocolate Fever’!)
#6- Librivox
One of the very best things about Librivox to me is their use of filters! It makes finding exactly what you’re looking for a piece of cake! You do have to give each story a listen initially as some of the recordings were done quite some years ago and the quality of many of those is lacking (some are plain painful to listen to :D). If you find a title that you’re really interested in, but the quality is poor, dig around a bit! I’ve found more than one recording of a book.
+Librivox Children’s History Audiobooks List (Non-fiction)
+Librivox Children’s Historical Fiction Audiobook List
One fun sample to get you started is “In Texas With Davy Crockett“!
+Librivox Children’s Genre Audiobooks List
#7- “Dear America” Series (Read Alouds- YouTube)
This is such a well written series of historical fiction for kids! They are a step up in difficulty from the American Girl historical doll books, and a bit more meaty as far as content goes. You can listen to many of them onYouTube as read by Jodi Ecket Cifrese for free, or you can easily find them on Audible (Audible- “Dear America” series)
+My Name Is America: The Journal Of Sean Sullivan
(This is not the same series, but a spin off. Here’s one I thought your boys might enjoy!
#8- G.A. Henty Books (YouTube)
These books are EXCELLENT for your older students who love to read, but may find history boring! Sometimes it is hard to find good historical fiction for this age group. If you are using a Classical Approach in your learning, you probably have already heard of, and appreciate, the comprehensive history works of G.A. Henty. His books are written for a junior high and over readers, but that is one more wonderful benefit of using Audiobooks. Any age can listen to and appreciate good literature! I was constantly AMAZED at what my Littles picked up by listening to read alouds well above their “age level”!!
You can also find a pretty good selection of these books on the Librivox G.A. Henty Playlist.
Many of the Henty books on the YouTube link above are also Librivox, but she saved you the trouble of weeding out some of the poor quality readings!
And once again, you can find these books on Audible’s GA Henty Audiobook List
Here’s a good one to get you started! Enjoy!
+The Lion of Saint Mark: A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century
#9- Storynory History Stories
You will find lots of entertaining and educational history stories for kids to listen to on this website!
I featured it in my Top 10 History Podcasts For Kids post as they also have a podcast. The stories on the website are quite short (most are about 15 minutes), but packed full of fun facts and information. I imagine they’d be a good listen around the breakfast table! They also have a section of Bible Stories/History. *I have not listened to these for accuracy!!!*
+Stories of King Arthur and His Knights
(There are 6 stories including Sir Gawain & The Green Knight!)
+Histories of Herodotus
(Including the intro Herodotus: The Egyptians and the Greeks)
#10- Little House On The Prairie (series)
Listening to the Little House on the Prairie book series is almost a rite of passage in our home!
Mrs. Call does an excellent job reading with fun accents and lots of energy! The Little House books are perfect if you are studying the pioneer era, and if you are working on the Free Pioneer America Kirsten Unit!
**TOP 10 Favorite (but not free) History Audiobooks For Kids**
#1- American Girl History Books
These would be such a wonderful addition to the FREE American Girl Units I’ve written!
Some of these books are for “companion dolls” to the original historical American Girl Dolls. For example, the Rebecca book is set during the turn of the century and would be perfect to use alongside the Turn of the Century Unit (Samantha)!
+Kaya: The Journey Begins
+Kaya: Smoke On The Wind
+Felicity: Love and Loyalty
+Josefina: Sunlight & Shadows
+Josefina: Second Chances
+Kirsten: An American Girl
+Addy: Finding Freedom
+Addy: A Heart Full Of Hope
+Freedom For Addy
+Samantha: The Gift
+Samantha: Lost And Found
+Samantha Helps A Friend
+Rebecca: The Sound of Applause
+Lights, Camera, Rebecca!
+Meet Claudie (1920’s)
+Nanea: The Spirit of Aloha
+Nanea: Hula For the Homefront
+Molly: A Winning Spirit
+Molly: Stars, Stripes, and Surprises
+Maryellen: The One and Only (1954)
+Maryellen: Taking Off
#2 & 3- Christian Heroes: Then and Now & The Trailblazer Series
My family really enjoyed reading many of the books in this series, and now you can also LISTEN to the same great stories on audio! These books are a wonderful way to bring HIStory to life in a way that few other “history books” can. These adventurous biographies of world changing Christians, written in story form, will challenge, excite, and inspire your whole family to BELIEVE in the nearness and power of the One true God!
YWAM Publishers also has a fantastic list of the entire series in chronological order with DATES! This is super helpful for planning when to choose each book. I listed a few below to get you started!
+Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In The Midst of Wickedness
+Betty Greene: Wings To Serve
+David Livingstone: Trailblazer To Africa
+Sundar Singh: Footprints Over The Mountains
You may also enjoy these similarly written books, from the Trailblazer series!
+Spy For The Night Riders
+The Mayflower Secret
+Kidnapped By River Rats!
+The Queen’s Smuggler
#4- Adventures In Odyssey- Adventures In American History
Adventures In Odyssey, from Focus On The Family, has been around for years! More recently, they’ve come out with a great series called “Adventures In American History”. Think blasting back to the battlefield with George Washington, meeting the men who took a deep breath as they signed their names on the Declaration of Independence, and the courages Ross family who found their way through darkness to the Underground Railroad! These would be perfect to listen to if you’re working your way through Fields of Daisies’ Free Early American History Curriculum. Historical fiction and time travel make for some EXCITING history lessons!
+AIO American History Complete Set
+For God and Country- CD set
You can also find the AIO Imagination Station History Series audio (MP3) versions on Christian Books or the Focus On the Family app.
#5 & 6- A Child’s History of The World & The Story of the World
You could easily use just these audio versions of ‘A Child’s History Of The World’ and ‘The Story Of The World’ series, in place of these texts. These are the spine reading material in most of my Free History Series. I wish the audiobooks had been available when I was using them for my children. I would have loved to have done this part of our history lessons curled up on the couch (or driving to appointments) !!
These would also make OUTSTANDING overviews of world history for long car trips, summer learning, or just for FUN! I think I would like to listen to these audio histories even while cleaning the house, etc.
They’d be perfect for parents/teachers to freshen up and get a good grasp of the big picture of history before teaching it as well!
#7 & 8- Who Was? Series & What Is? Series
These books are EVERYWHERE! They’re short and sweet and to the point… and kids seem to LOVE them!
If you’re looking for a way to make history more engaging, these might just do the trick!
I think they’d be a great way to introduce a few of the famous people and places in an engaging way at the start of each new section of history. Take a look!
+Who Was Amelia Earhart?
+Who Was Annie Oakley?
+Who Were The Navajo Code Talkers?
+Who Was Queen Elizabeth II?
+Who Was Julius Caesar?
+What Was Pearl Harbor?
+What Was The Boston Tea Party?
+What Is the Supreme Court?
+What Was the Titanic?
#9- The Sower Series Audiobooks
If your family enjoys learning history by learning about the people who lived during any given time, you might really enjoy this history/biography series! This is an oldie but goodie series. Inspiring, challenging, and REAL LIFE stories of the people who have left behind a legacy of character and integrity! John Hudson Tiner has written many of these books. If you’ve never heard of him before, you may also like to check out his “Exploring The History Of…” series. My son, who was not particularly motivated to study science, but enjoyed history, LOVED LOVED LOVED these books and was sad when he had finished them all! My son will turn 30 in March, and we STILL have these books on my bookshelf if that tells you anything!
+George Washington
+Teresa Of Calcutta
+Susanna Wesley
+George Washington Carver
+Francis Scott Key
+Stonewall Jackson
#10- Mystery of History Audiobooks
My kids LOVED the Mystery of History books! Short, bite sized lessons that tie in ALL of History, including the people, places, and events of the Bible! The entire set is available, or you can get them separately to see if your family enjoys them!
+The Mystery of History- Volume 1
+The Mystery of History- Volume 2
+The Mystery of History- Volume 3
+The Mystery of History- Volume 4
#11- My History Booklists—> On Audible
This is the EASIEST !!
Just click through one of my History Booklists made especially for the Free Ancient World History Curriculum and also for the Free Early American History and Free Modern American Curriculum History series, choose the books you’re interested in listening too, and click on the Audible option! Voila!
I’ll list a few good ones to get you started, and also include links to some of my History Booklists.
+History Audiobook Suggestions
*Mystery Of The Egyptian Scroll
*Shadows At Jamestown
*The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time Travel Adventure
*Number The Stars
*Bud, Not Buddy
+Fields of Daisies History Books and Resources Lists
*Ancient Civilizations & The Old Testament Books & Resources List
*Ancient Egypt Books & Resources List
*Ancient Greece Books & Resources List
*Ancient Rome Books & Resources List
*The Middle Ages Books & Resources List
*Early American History Books & Resources List
*Modern American History Books & Resources List
*Great Books & Resources for American History Unit Studies
(These go along with the American Girl Unit Studies, but have TONS of other resources as well. You will also find a CHRISTMAS section with some super fun ideas for Holiday Homeschooling!)
I really hope you will find some History Helps for your family that will bring out curiosity, excitement, and JOY in learning about our past, how it has changed our present, and how it will shape the future!
LEAVE A COMMENT!
I’d love to hear what your favorites are!
Happy Living, Loving, Learning… and Listening friends!
**TOP 10 Teaching History Helps Series**
+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History BOOKS
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 History HANDS-ON
+Top 10 History PRINTABLES
+Top 10 History FIELD TRIPS
And a bonus…
+Top 10 History for the HOLIDAYS
+Top 10 AMAZING Homeschooling Resources At The Library
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