give_me_a_latte Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I've never enjoyed audio books. I do better when I see the words in front of me. But I've read so much about how quality audio books can benefit kids in the early years, so I want to try. When I look at ones suggested for preschoolers though, they seem like an awful lot of money for a 5-10 minute recording. Buy enough of those short recordings and it could really add up! (And I'm not yet sure if an Audible subscription would be worthwhile for us). I've downloaded some of the recordings from free sources, and they all seem to have something at the end naming the company and website, etc...which is really distracting on such short audios. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for a good audio book/series that would grow with us. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootyTooty Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Have you tried your public library? A lot of libraries offer audiobooks like tumblebooks and overdrive for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
give_me_a_latte Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Have you tried your public library? A lot of libraries offer audiobooks like tumblebooks and overdrive for free. Yep. Our library is about the size of someone's garage. No audiobooks. They used to offer downloads online, but stopped doing that a few years ago thanks to budget cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics4us Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 If you just want to stories I highly reccomend Jim Weiss. If you want novels and such try www.librivox.org. It's a free website where you can download audio books read by folks like you and me. Since these people are not professional the quality of some books isn't that great but hey, it's free. :) Please excuse any grammatical or other errors, I've just recently had neck surgery and still taking pain meds ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 our favorite is probably the Burgess Bird Book free on librivox.org we printed the free coloring pages and the beautiful free illustrations that are online. you'll have to google them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMama Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 My two and three year old are happily listening to Charlotte's Web. It's a 3.5 hour book on tape, which should take us a few weeks to get through. Our library also has Beatrix potter's collected works, along with A. A Milne. You might want to look for a collection of short stories to consolidate costs while considering limited attention span. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah1615 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know of a couple online sources for free audio stories. One is: http://storynory.com/category/stories/ This one is really great! It is Kiddie Records Weekly (Classics from the Golden Age) and it has recordings from all of those old albums of classic children's stories. I think it is so neat! There are tons of them too if you search the different years. http://www.kiddierecords.com/2009/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiKC Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know of a couple online sources for free audio stories.One is: http://storynory.com/category/stories/ This one is really great! It is Kiddie Records Weekly (Classics from the Golden Age) and it has recordings from all of those old albums of classic children's stories. I think it is so neat! There are tons of them too if you search the different years. http://www.kiddierecords.com/2009/index.htm We love these - especially storynory! Great stuff! Also love Jim Weiss (but I've read here that some do not, which is a shocker to me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiKC Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thought I'd throw out what my boys LOVED from ages 4-7. Winnie the Pooh & House at Pooh Corner (I got the double set) Trumpet of the Swan (and it's read by the author!) Story of the World (narrated by Jim Weiss, volumes 1 & 2) - OVER AND OVER AND OVER!!! Dominic by William Steig Back to Storynory - you've got to check it out! So much great stuff: fairy tales, Greek myths, Christmas stories. Natasha is a wonderful narrator! It's a huge hit with my boys. Especially when she says something on one of the Greek myths about, "if you like stories about fluffy bunnies and kitty cats, find another story!" Try getting some used stuff on Amazon. I think I got the Pooh CD set (about 6 CDs) for something crazy like $6 a few years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Winnie the Pooh narrated by Peter Dennis (I bought a boxed set cheaply, and it's the entire set of stories and poems.) This is a MUST for your little ones!!! Get Pooh first!:D Beyond that, I utilize the library mainly...don't under-estimate what your 4yo can handle in an audiobook. I like getting longer books, and putting them on during nap/quiet time, in the van, and on rainy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We have been able to download lovely free audio versions of the Oz books on iTunes. Through the library we have gotten the Winnie the Pooh already mentioned, and the Paddington books read by Stephen Fry. We also like Ursula Leguin reading her own Catwings series and anything we have heard by Jim Weiss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know of a couple online sources for free audio stories.One is: http://storynory.com/category/stories/ This one is really great! It is Kiddie Records Weekly (Classics from the Golden Age) and it has recordings from all of those old albums of classic children's stories. I think it is so neat! There are tons of them too if you search the different years. http://www.kiddierecords.com/2009/index.htm LOVE LOVE LOVE Kiddierecords! One of my favorite freebies ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There are a lot of free audiobooks online, like on iTunes and librivox.org. A mom here kindly gave us this link for the complete audio recording of Chronicles of Narnia read by Dr. Chrissi Hart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Is there any chance you're affiliated with one of the library systems on this list--maybe your library has some reciprocal agreements? http://gadd.lib.overdrive.com/DBFD2AA8-653F-47EC-A7C8-BEDEE5077202/10/512/en/Libraries.htm If not, maybe you could pay to join one of them so you could have access to the online resource? Even if they're not close enough to utilize the actual library, it might be worth the drive to become a paying member or affiliate. Audible.com is nice, but expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 My daughter really enjoyed Greek Myths by Jim Weiss, she kept wanting to hear the stories over and over again. For K, we followed a lot of the suggestions out of TWTM: Peter Pan Alice in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There The Jungle Books, I and II Just So Stories Rabbit Hill The Chronicles of Narnia The Princess and the Curdie The Complete Book of Dragons The Railway Children Charlotte's Web Stuart Little The Trumpet of the Swan I also have a list I keep and try to update whenever I find new free audiobooks online: LibriVox Free Classic Audiobooks Storynory Kiddie Records Telltale Weekly Reading Well Talking History HisKids Kids Learn Out Loud Lit to Go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBoulden Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan read by EB White himself... these are a great place to start, in my opinion. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
give_me_a_latte Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Oh my gosh, thank you everyone for the suggestions and resources! I have a lot of clicking around to do!!! I found a short three-story collection by Jim Weiss on iTunes last night (for about $4). So we'll start with that as I make my way through all of these suggestions!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanieh Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know of a couple online sources for free audio stories.One is: http://storynory.com/category/stories/ This one is really great! It is Kiddie Records Weekly (Classics from the Golden Age) and it has recordings from all of those old albums of classic children's stories. I think it is so neat! There are tons of them too if you search the different years. http://www.kiddierecords.com/2009/index.htm OMG! Thank you thank you thank you!!! I had NO IDEA such resources existed!!! WE LOVE books on tape so what a gold mine you just turned us onto!!!! Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We've been given some picture books that come with audio cds and my kids enjoyed these before we began with chapter books. A few favorites are: King Bidgood's In the Bathtub Miss Fannie's Hat Frog and Toad and Mouse Tales (read by the author) Can You Hear It? (An art/music book from the Metropolitan Museum) Poetry Speaks to Children Sometimes I have put these on our Amazon wish list for out of town relatives to give my kids for Christmas and birthdays. We have also enjoyed James Herriott's Treasury for Children The Tale of Desperaux Beatrix Potter The Jesus Storybook Bible enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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