Whether you’re a parent or an educator who is looking for unique ways to engage children with literature or you love reading yourself but you simply don’t have the time to sit down and flip through the pages of a book, audiobooks may be just the solution you’re looking for. Audiobooks, as the name suggests, are recorded read aloud’s of texts. The recordings can be exact, word-for-word readings or abridged versions, and there are literally dozens of genres available, including children’s literature, novels, poems, short stories, and so much more.
Audiobooks are ideal for auditory learners, as well as anyone who just doesn’t have time to sit down with a book, as you can listen to the recordings in the classroom, in the car, while you’re food shopping, cleaning the house, doing a project – or while you’re doing pretty much anything else. Whatever you’re particular situation may be, if you’d interested in audiobooks, keep on reading to find out where you can download and listen to wide selections of titles, completely free of charge.
OverDrive
Local libraries across the country have subscriptions with OverDrive, a site that offers a long list of free audiobooks that you can download for free; all you need is a valid library card with your local library. The titles can be downloaded just like a traditional library book, and you’ll return it at the end of the loan period, or you can download the Libby app on your Android or iOS mobile device and access OverDrive titles from there. In addition to audiobooks, OverDrive offers free eBooks, movies, and music, too.
Audible
With a 30-day free trial, you can download an audiobook of your choice, as well as two Audible originals, for free during the trial period. Once downloaded, the audiobooks are yours forever, and you can listen to them from your computer or mobile device. There are countless titles to choose from in a wide selection of genres. Do note, however, that once the 30-day trial expires, you will have to pay a monthly fee to continue downloading audiobooks from the site.
LibriVox
LibriVox is a unique platform, as it offers free-of-charge audiobooks that have been recorded by volunteers who read public domain books. There are a vast array of titles available on a long list of subjects/genres, by many authors, and even in several different languages. You can browse the catalog for titles and subscribe to new releases that you can receive as podcasts. Upon reaching the description page of the book, you can read more about it or listen to individual chapters without downloading each one.
Internet Archive
Another great site where you can find more than 20,000 free audiobooks, on Internet Archive, you can browse titles based on subject, keywords, or author. You can also sort your view of available audiobooks according to popular titles. Some titles are available in several formats, such as MP3 and OGG. You can download the entire audiobook or you can download individual chapters. Examples of some of the titles available include Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Art of War; just to name a few.
Storynory
If you’re on the hunt for free audiobooks for children, Storynory is a site that you’re definitely going to want to check out. The site offers so many wonderful titles and genres for young readers, including fairy tales, historical fiction, classics, and educational books. You can either download and stream the audiobooks directly from the website, or you can subscribe through a podcasting services, such as Apple Podcasts. There’s an app for iOS devices, too. However you choose to access the titles, all audiobooks on Storynory are completely for free.