Road trips are the quintessential summer vacation.
When the weather warms up and kids are out of school, does your family like to load up the car and go?
If so, you know a long drive can seem ten times longer when kids are asking, “Are we there yet?” over and over.
So how do you keep kids busy and engaged? DVD players, and more recently tablets for watching TV shows or movies, tend to be recommended most often.
If screens are your go-to choice for road trip entertainment, we’ve got an alternative the whole family will love — podcasts and audiobooks!
Podcasts and audiobooks are versatile enough to be enjoyed by everyone in the vehicle.
They can also be enjoyed individually if your child has a smart device, headphones, and the Pinna app. This means a little bit of peace and quiet for the grown-ups (score!).
Wanna know some other reasons you should give audio a try!?
Here are a few.
- No screens — this gives eyes and brains a break while preventing screen fatigue.
- Your listening options are pretty much endless. Pinna’s audio library is huge and new content is being added all the time. If you’re having trouble choosing, check out Pinna’s Decision Tree for help.
- Offline listening...if you know you’ll hit stretches of road with spotty service, download your favorites before taking off and you can listen without interruption.
- Rack up titles to hit those summer reading goals. If you and your kids are participating in a summer reading program, audiobooks count too so be sure to add ‘em to your list!
If you need some recommendations to get you started, we’ve got a handpicked selection of audio — broken down by age — for you to check out below.
Road Trip Picks: Ages 3-5
- Quentin and Alfie’s ABC Adventures
- Hey Story Go
- Sarah and Duck
- The Ballad of Phineas McBoof
- The Return of Phineas McBoof
- Clifford Series
- Remy’s Place
- Molly and the Sugar Monster
- Story Time with Benny and Buddy
Road Trip Picks: Ages 6-8
- Opal Watson: Private Eye
- Emma-Made Lemonade
- Captain Underpants Series
- Book of Dragons
- Geronimo Stilton Series
- Magic School Bus Series
- Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest
- Don’t Break the Rules
- Ninjago Series
- Upside Down Magic Series
- A-Z Mysteries: Clue Club
- Tara Tremendous: The Secret Diaries
- Tara Tremendous: The Egyptian Curse
- Little Miss President
- ExtraBLURT Jr.
Road Trip Picks: Ages 9-12
- Origins Unknown
- Dream Breachers
- The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
- Hero Hotel
- Mackaroy Uncovered
- The Battle of Darcy Lane
- My Life in Dioramas
- Allie Finkle Series
- I Survived Series
- Gordon Korman Series
- Game Changers Series
- Chronicles of the Red King Series
- The Ghost of Jessica Majors
- Secrets of a Lab Rat Series
- ExtraBLURT
- 5 for 5 Trivia
- Food Crimes
- Spirit Animals Series
- Pip Bartlett Series
- Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel
- Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella
- Audacity Jones Series
- Magus Elgar
- Searching for Wild Thing
- The Creeping Hour
We’re all ears!
What are your summer break plans? We’d love to hear from you! Find us on all our social platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest – or email us at contact@pinna.fm.