Your Kids will Love these 10 Children’s Audio Stories for Preschoolers

“I wrote a love note to my sons that they could read forever and hid it inside a metaphor about bees,” says author and artist Larkin about this joyous book. He, his sons, and his wife team up to deliver the 12-minute audio version, accompanied by buzzing bees and jazzy music. The result makes a lively and engaging companion to the picture book, in which little ones will learn a lot about bees and the importance of loving what sometimes scares us.

Actress and author Nyong’o narrates this 13-minute audiobook of her own work—a beautiful and sensitively handled fable about a girl learning to accept and love her skin color and recognize her inner radiance. Nyong’o’s delivery is everything you’d expect from an Academy Award winner, while the music by Justin Ellington and African drumming help create an immersive atmosphere and engaging listening experience. Want to know more about this #OwnVoices work? Nyong’o also recorded a video readaloud of Sulwe and did an interview on the audiobook’s creation process.

Guy Lockard narrates the nine-minute recording of this popular picture book about the beauty and power of words. Thanks to his enthusiastic delivery, the up-beat music, and perfect timing, the words seem to leap out at you—little listeners familiar with the story will love chiming in or repeating them. One for word lovers everywhere, this is a wonderful example of how an audiobook can introduce a fantastic extra dimension to a story.

This poignant eight-minute audio story tells about a boy who imagines the lives of other people by studying their faces and drawing pictures of them—before realizing that you can never know someone just from their appearance. Narrated by Dion Graham without background music or sound effects, it’s likely best for older preschoolers and those easily distracted by extra audio elements. Offering them a hard copy to follow along with the illustrations can help them follow along with the story better.

Spaghetti Western-style music and ambient desert noises create a delightfully immersive atmosphere in this enchanting story about friendship and sharing between two turtles—brought to life in gravelly old-timer tones by Johnny Heller and Chris Curry. At six minutes long, it’s a good choice for younger preschoolers, and even toddlers, especially those who appreciate a leisurely listening pace and gentle message.

Narrated by three members of a voice-acting family—Brian, Rosi, and Alisa Amador—this is a lovely story of a grandmother and granddaughter learning to connect and communicate with each other despite language barriers. Spanish words and engaging music are woven into the 12-minute audiobook, one that should appeal to young Latinx listeners and others alike.

For kids who love their audiobooks on the musical side, this one is hard to beat. Expressively narrated by Dion Graham, and showcasing a vivid New Orleans soundscape of horns and crowds, this captivating 13-minute autobiography of the award-winning musician will take listeners on an audio journey they’ll want to revisit. It pairs wonderfully with the picture book illustrations.

In this preschooler age-group at least, it’s not all that common to find children’s audiobooks narrated by children. But here’s an example, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter, that works well. This heartwarming story of a girl who wants an extra-special hairstyle to greet her mom’s return home—and her dad’s many attempts to achieve it—is relatable and refreshing. The uplifting yet unobtrusive music and short running time of four minutes also make it an easy listening choice for younger preschoolers as well as older ones.

Celebrating a Native American food staple, and with a message on community and family, this book and its 34-minute audio counterpart will engage little learners through wonderful depictions. Read by the author, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the rich language complemented by cheery music and evocative sound effects, it ends with a recipe for making fry bread.

For those who love a wintry tale, it’s hard not to be charmed by this story of Cozy the musk ox and the many animals who seek shelter under his soft coat. Young listeners will love curling up for nine minutes of story time with this one, poring over the detailed illustrations as René Ruiz narrates against a backdrop of whistling winds and animal sound effects.