9 Great Audio Books for Family Road Trips

It’s the time of the year for vacations. School is letting out, and lots of people are taking their families to the beach, the lake, a road trip, and many other places. Some of those people take a plane, but a good many choose to drive.

Today I’ve put together a list of my favorite (family friendly!) audiobooks. You’ve probably heard of a lot of them, but some of them may be a little less familiar to you. Either way, each of these books are wonderful for people of all ages, and have very awesome audiobook choices.

Audio books are a way for a family to connect during a road trip. They are something that everyone can enjoy, from the person behind the wheel to the little kid in the back who can’t even read yet. It doesn’t matter if it’s too dark to see, or if the family is on very different levels of maturity. Listening to a book in the car will give everyone something to look forward to, even when there are many hours in the car ahead of you. I hope you’ll decide to give it a try for your own family!

My Experience

One Christmas our parents gave us a set of The Chronicles of Narnia CDs by Focus on the Family. They were for us to listen to in the car on a vacation we were about to go on.

It was the first time that anyone in my family had read the series, and we loved it. We began with The Magician’s Nephew. My little brother, who couldn’t have been more than three at the time, was listening quietly along with us, as was my dad, who isn’t much of a reader. It was a good story, and something we could do together in the car!

I remember listening to part of the book as the sun was painting orange colors on the evening sky, completely entertained, and completely happy. Sometimes my mom would even pass handfuls of candy to the backseat for us to suck on as we enjoyed the story.

We turned on the CD often during that trip, and on our next trip we took along The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was next up in the series. Listening to those books is something that I always looked forward to on vacation.

Books From Audible

In case you’re unaware, I wanted to mention quickly that we get a lot of our audiobook from Audible. Audible is a paid monthly membership (around $15 a month), but it opens you up to a lot of options you probably wouldn’t be able to find otherwise. I would encourage you to check it out! We use it all the time for our audio books.

However, if that doesn’t sound like something you’ll buy, there are other options. Your library system will likely have a website that you can get audiobooks on for free. They may not have everything, but there will still be a lot of good stuff on there to start listening to! 😉

And now… 9 Great Audio Books for Family Road Trips!

Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is one of my very favorite book series! You won’t be able to help falling in love with the simple life and ways of Laura and her family. There is a charm to these books that becomes crystal clear from the very first chapter. The book is about everyday life in pioneer days, which, besides being interesting to read about, also makes for lovely storytelling.

You’ve probably heard of the series. These classic books are pretty popular and loved by a lot of people. But you may never have thought to listen to them on audio as a family. I can tell you that they are wonderful for young listeners, though. My brother listened to the whole series (narrated by Cherry Jones) when he was quite little and enjoyed them very much.

Ramona Quimby, by Beverly Cleary

The Ramona books have been favorites of mine for a very long time. They are entertaining, funny, loving, and full of the hilarious misunderstandings and concerns of a growing little girl. The books follow Ramona Quimby from preschool to 4th grade. She faces so much over the years, from helping her father who recently lost his job to figuring out a new friendship.

These books will be especially great if you have kids on the younger end, but older kids will probably enjoy them too. Reading back on them, I was amazed at how entertaining the writing is!

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis

As I mentioned above, these were the first books my family listened to on a trip. I thought they were perfect for it! The Focus on the Family CDs are wonderful. They make the story really come alive with sound effects and character voices. But you can always go with a normal audio book instead.

This series is full of fantasy elements that bring an extra magic to the books. They have a great story, and an even greater meaning. I could say a lot of great things about these books, but for now I’ll keep it short. 😉 Everyone will love these books. No matter what the personalities of the listeners are, there will be something in this story that excites them, inspires them, encourages them, or just plain entertains them!

Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart

When I was coming up with this post, I knew I had to include these books on the list. They are just so great! I listened to them on audio a couple years ago, and now I am going through them with my brother.

The characters are amazing. They have very strong personalities that are revealed in brilliant ways throughout the books. The plot is exciting as well as well thought out. But something that I never would have imagined in such a thrilling story is the quality of writing. This is not some poorly written series; it is a quality story!

The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall

These books are an absolute treasure. They are some of my favorite books I’ve read, and the narrator (Susan Denaker) is wonderful. A couple years ago I received the set for my birthday, and I immediately began flipping through to my favorite scenes, which turned out to be practically all of them.

A couple of the books in this series (including the first one) are about the girls’ vacations, making them perfect to listen to while on one yourself. They are full of exciting adventures, new friends, and four sisters who grow their relationships with each other in new ways. The Penderwicks are probably the most realistic set of siblings I’ve ever found in a book!

Sweet Home Alaska, by Carole Estby Dagg

My family found this book more recently than most of the others. It was probably a year ago or less that we began listening to it together, and we found it to be a truly great book! Set in the Great Depression era, this book follows the life of Terpsichore and her family as they make a life changing move to Alaska.

It’s a brilliantly written story; light and funny at parts, but also underlined with a deeper plot. Will her family make a home for themselves in this new land? And what does Terpsichore even want the turnout to be?

I know you’ll love this book a lot. It really is a wonderful story, and it’s narrated by the same woman who did The Penderwicks, which adds to the storytelling in a splendid way!

The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson

This series is very unique and beautiful. It’s narrated by Andrew Peterson, and he does an amazing job with it. The books have absolutely hilarious creatures, words, and history woven into them. You will find the writing to be amusing, and the characters to be outstanding role models with believable personalities.

There are four books in this series. In my opinion, the first one is poorly written compared to the others. Even Andrew Peterson says that the book was him teaching himself how to write. So be warned, and don’t give up on the series too soon. By the second book the story becomes exciting and amazing. And just wait, because it only gets better after that.

Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie

You can’t help but love this story. A boy who never grows up. A girl clinging to her childhood. Fairies, pirates, islands, clubhouses, and danger! What other book is so full of childhood adventures?

You probably know the story, but have you read the book yet? If not, I think it will surprise you. You don’t just have to be a fan of the movie to enjoy it. In fact, the book follows the reader’s rule that the book is always better than the movie. I have personally always loved the classic movie as well, but recently I realized what a great read the book is!

The writing in every chapter is appealing and charming, and this is a great choice if you are driving with younger children who need to start with a shorter story. I think anyone would enjoy this book though. Even adults won’t be able to help loving the sweet story.

The Wilderking Trilogy, by Jonathan Rogers

This is a high-quality, well-written story. It loosely follows the story line of David the shepherd boy, which adds an extra interest as you’re able to compare the stories and find their likenesses.

I actually take writing classes with Jonathan Rogers and can tell you truthfully: he understands what makes a good story! The knowledge taught in his classes is portrayed wonderfully in his books. Not to mention, he is the narrator for his books, which I am very glad for. It always reassures me that the story is being told right when the author reads it.

Note: I’ve only read the first book in the series so far. But while I can’t speak from experience past that, I have faith that the next ones are just as good quality as the first. It’s hard to imagine them any other way after you’ve read his work. 🙂

Final Thoughts

Whether you were looking for a new audio book to read with your family, hoping for something to keep the family entertained during road trips, or just wanted to check out what I had to say I hope you found this post to be helpful and informative.

What are some of your favorite audiobooks? Has your family ever listened to them on long car rides? Let me know your experience in the comments!