Screens are everywhere and a part of everything we do: work, school, connecting with relatives, movies, games, and on. For those feeling screen fatigue (*cough* all of us), or just looking for something the kids can do without them, we’ve got a collection of fun audiobooks by age (from babies to 12-year olds) to help ring in the holiday season.
Babies – 4 years
How to Catch an Elf
You’ve been waiting all year long, and now it’s finally Christmas Eve! Is this the year you’ll finally catch an elf? Start a new Christmas tradition with this hilarious children’s book from the creators of the New York Times bestseller How to Catch a Leprechaun! This funny story is sure to become an instant classic, beloved by parents and children for many holidays to come!
Length: 6 mins
Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Christmas is coming! But Bear is sleeping, and his friends don’t want him to snooze through the whole holiday season. So they wake him up and give him lots to do. Bear wraps presents, bakes treats, and decorates as much as he can. And the fun is just starting, because a special visitor just might make this the best Christmas yet.
Length: 6 mins
Hanukkah Bear
A bear wakes to wonderful smells that lead him to the house of Bubba Brayna. Bubba Brayna makes the best latkes in the village, but at 97, she doesn’t hear or see well. When the bear arrives at her door, she believes he is her rabbi. Bubba Brayna and the bear light the menorah, play the dreidel game, and eat all the latkes. The mix-up is revealed, Bubba Brayna has a laugh about it, and everyone works together to make more latkes.
Length: 12 mins
Olivia Helps with Christmas
Christmas is coming, and Olivia is incredibly busy. She has to wait for Santa, make sure Dad sets up the tree, wait for Santa, watch Mom make the Christmas dinner, wait for Santa, oversee the care with which the stockings are hung and, of course, OPEN HER PRESENTS! Do you see how hard it is to be so helpful during the holidays! A lovingly-told Olivia Helps With Christmas is the perfect stuffing for any stocking, and the newest star atop the Olivia series.
Length: 10 mins
5-7 Years
A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time
Jack and Annie’s mission from Merlin the Magician? To help the famous writer Charles Dickens! In a magical whirl, the brother and sister are whisked back in time to Victorian England and the foggy streets of London. There, Jack and Annie discover that Charles Dickens has everything he could possibly want. How can they help him? It is not until Mr. Dickens rescues them from being thrown in jail that they discover his secret past and the sad memories that haunt him. They will need all their magic – and help from three ghosts – to keep the great writer from ruining his life!
Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
Seven Candles For Kwanzaa
This unique African-American holiday commemorates the strength of family ties, respect for ancestors, commitment to the growth of community, and gratitude for life’s bounties.
Length: 10 mins
The Christmas Turkey Disaster
Hank is in real trouble this time. Loper and Sally May’s relatives are coming for Christmas dinner, and Sally May has been working to get the entire ranch in order – including preparing for the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, when she discovers that the turkey she bought has met a terrible end, she pins the blame on Hank! Is he the guilty party, or have more sinister forces been at work to frame him for the crime?
Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
Christmas in Camelot
Inspired by the Celtic legend and the spirit of the imagination, Christmas in Camelot is Mary Pope Osborne’s gift to young listeners everywhere. It begins with a simple invitation to spend Christmas Eve in Camelot, a magical place that exists only in myth and fantasy. What Jack and Annie don’t know is that the invitation will send them on a quest to save Camelot itself, not from destruction, but from being forgotten forever.
Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
8-12 Years
Winterfrost
Christmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost over the countryside. But 12-year-old Bettina’s parents have been called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia. In all the confusion, Bettina’s family neglects to set out the traditional bowl of Christmas rice pudding for the tiny nisse who are rumored to look after the family and their livestock. No one besides her grandfather ever believed the nisse were real, so what harm could there be in forgetting this silly custom? But when baby Pia disappears during a nap, the magic of the nisse makes itself known. To find her sister and set things right, Bettina must venture into the miniature world of these usually helpful, but sometimes mischievous folk. A delightful winter adventure for lovers of the legendary and miraculous.
Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
The Girl Who Saved Christmas
Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present. It was her Christmas spirit that gave Santa the extra boost of magic he needed to make his first trip around the world. But now Amelia is in trouble.
When her mother falls ill, she is sent to the workhouse to toil under cruel Mr. Creeper. For a whole year, Amelia scrubs the floors and eats watery gruel without a whiff of kindness to keep her going. It’s not long before her hope begins to drain away.
Meanwhile, up at the North Pole, magic levels dip dangerously low as Christmas approaches, and Santa knows that something is gravely wrong. With the help of his trusty reindeer, a curious cat, and Charles Dickens, he sets out to find Amelia, the only girl who might be able to save Christmas. But first, Amelia must learn to believe again…
Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
Greenglass House
It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and 12-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House – and themselves.
Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
When Santa Fell to Earth
Thanks to Twinklestar, that marzipan-loving but lightning-shy reindeer, Santa and his caravan have come crashing down in a storm, just two weeks before Christmas. Luckily he’s (literally!) dropped into a nice neighborhood.
But Santa’s not safe.
The ruthless Gerold Geronimus Goblynch plans to put an end to children’s wishes and turn the holiday season into his personal money-making scheme. Only Santa stands between him and his Grinch-like tricks. With the help of kids Charlotte and Ben, Santa will have to face Goblynch and his Nutcracker goons if he’s ever to rescue Christmas!
Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
