Best Family Audiobooks for a Fall Road Trip
One of my favorite parts about living in the Midwest was the changing of the season. Every fall, I would look forward to the leaves changing, the chill in the air, and visiting the apple orchards. Now that we live in Texas, I think we need to take a fall road trip to see the leaves change. What better way to pass the time on a car ride than listening to audio books. Here are some of the best family audiobooks to listen to on your fall drive.
Best Family Audiobooks for a Fall Road Trip
If you are planning a fall drive with kids, why not make time fly by with some audible books? You can find these on Scribd, Audible, Overdrive, and Amazon, and download them for your trip. Here are some of the best family audiobooks we recommend for your next vacation.
Pax
Pax and Peter have been inseparable since Peter rescued him as a kit. But when Peter's dad enlists in the military, Peter has to return the fox to the wild.
At his grandfather's house, 300 miles away from home, Peter can only think of Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.
Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own....
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
One of the best-known stories in American culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stirred the imagination of young and old alike for over 100 years. Anne Hathaway lends her voice to this uniquely American fairy tale.
I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919
My kids always love listening to the "I Survived" series. This one is about a killer wave of molasses that struck a crowded Boston neighborhood a hundred years ago. There were warning signs that the molasses tank would break. But the people of Boston's North End - mostly poor immigrants - were powerless to complain to the big molasses company.
On a bright January day in 1919, the tank finally broke and almost three million gallons of molasses rushed the neighborhood. At 15 feet tall, 160 feet wide, and traveling at 35 miles per hour, the gooey wave was more destructive than any flood of water would have been. This is the tale of a child who survived and lived to tell the tale.
Magic Tree House Collection: Books 1-8
This audiobook collection includes Books 1 through 8 of the Magic Treehouse series. Follow Jack and Annie as they encounter knights, mummies, and even dinosaurs!
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Lucy was struck by lightning. She doesn't remember it, but it changed her life forever. The volt of electricity gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she's technically ready for college. She just has to pass one more test: middle school!
The One and Only Ivan
Inspired by a true story, Ivan has spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall. Over time he has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life before the mall. Ivan keeps busy watching television, painting, and spending time with his friends. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see everything through new eyes.
A Tale of Magic...
When Brystal Evergreen stumbles across a secret section of the library, she discovers a book that introduces her to a world beyond her imagination and learns she is a fairy capable of magic! However, in the Southern Kingdom, women are forbidden from reading and magic is outlawed, so Brystal is swiftly convicted of her crimes and sent to the miserable Bootstrap Correctional Facility.
With the help of the mysterious Madame Weatherberry, Brystal is whisked away and enrolled in an academy of magic! Adventure comes with a price, however, and when Madame Weatherberry is called away to attend to an important problem she doesn’t return.
Do Brystal and her classmates have what it takes to stop a sinister plot that risks the fate of the world, and magic, forever?
Where the Wild Things Are
Max is the hero of this beloved children's classic in which he makes mischief, sails away, tames the wild things, and returns home for supper.
The Last Kids on Earth
Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, 13-year-old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he's armed with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew taken from abandoned stores.
Jack is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and Vine Thingies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg. So Jack builds a team: his dorky best friend, Quint; the reformed middle school bully, Dirk; Jack's loyal pet monster, Rover; and Jack's crush, June. With their help, Jack is going to slay Blarg, achieve the ultimate Feat of Apocalyptic Success, and be average no longer! Can he do it?
Esperanza Rising
Esperanza has all the treasures a young girl could want, but a sudden tragedy shatters that dream. It forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance, and economic difficulties. When Mama falls ill and a strike threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1
Orphaned as an infant, young Harry Potter has been living a less-than-fortunate life. Belittled by his pompous uncle and sniveling aunt (not to mention his absolute terror of a cousin, Dudley), Harry has resigned himself to a mediocre existence in the cupboard under the stairs.
When letters start dropping on the doormat at Number Four, Privet Drive. Addressed to “Mr. H. Potter”, the peculiar envelopes are swiftly confiscated by his family. Nothing stops Rubeus Hagrid, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man, from kicking down the door and bursting in with astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard—and not only a wizard, he’s an incredibly famous wizard.
Hagrid takes Harry off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, setting in motion an incredible adventure that listeners will never forget.
Beyond the Bright Sea
Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat as an infant, Crow’s only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.
Crow has always been curious, but it isn’t until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.
The Wild Robot
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive?
Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her....
Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses
From the vast and colorful imagination of Mary Engelbreit springs a Mother Goose world bursting with warmth and humor.
As complete as can be with one hundred rhymes in all, this is truly a book to treasure. It's a masterful collection of the adorable, the zany, and the beautiful that will be cherished for generations. It will make the drive fly by!
Hello, Universe
Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero).
In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate on basketball.
They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.
The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection
Meet Ramona. She lives with her mother, father, and big sister, Beezus. She’s not afraid of anything and is always up to something. And that’s just the beginning….Join Ramona, one of Beverly Cleary’s most beloved characters, on all her wacky adventures!
The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure
This is the incredible true adventure story of three men who were ordered by President McKinley to carry out an overland rescue that covered 1,500 miles of treacherous Alaskan terrain in the dead of winter.
Their mission was to drive two herds of reindeer the distance to feed the starving men. With their own survival in the balance, these men battled raging storms, bitter cold, injured sled dogs, and their own will to continue. Entries from the journals of two of the rescuers and photographs taken by the third key member of the unlikely expedition dramatically document every mile of their heroic, unprecedented journey.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It's practically a member of the family. So when their curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home.
One for the Murphys
A moving debut novel about a foster child learning to open her heart to a family's love.
Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household.
Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong - until her mother wants her back, and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She's not really a Murphy, but the gifts they've given her have opened up a new future.
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...and Maybe the World
Based on a Navy SEAL's inspiring graduation speech, this number-one New York Times best seller of powerful life lessons is a must listen for all families.
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life.
Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments.
If you’re looking for other road trip ideas, don’t miss: road trip essentials, road trip snacks, and road trip games for kids.