Top 10 Storytelling and Book Podcasts

Research tells us that storytelling is a “powerful means of fostering social cooperation and teaching social norms, and it pays valuable dividends to the storytellers themselves, improving their chances of being chosen as social partners, receiving community support and even having healthy offspring.” Humans need stories and podcasts are a wonderful, modern way to hear them. Listening to stories in podcast form is a delightful way to spend your time, no matter your age.

For children, there are benefits to podcast-listening even beyond the joy (and the great content) they bring us. Listening to podcasts improves attention spans, auditory processing (the ability to absorb, retain, and apply information you hear), and also strengthens the imagination and curiosity.

As with all media your family consumes, it’s best to listen to a few episodes to make sure that the podcast is right for your child. The first three podcasts are reliably appropriate for all ages, but you know your child and their needs best. Also, any story for any age brings up discussion-worthy ideas, and listening to the podcast before (or, if you’re confident in the series, with) your child lets you have those discussions in the moments. When you’ve previewed the content, you can come to those conversations with more wisdom to share.

Here are some of our favorite podcasts that offer read-alouds, storytelling, book recommendations, author interviews, and more! What are your favorites?

Sparkle Stories

These stories are never too scary, never too heavy, and always ready for children to dive into. My favorite feature of the podcast is the fact that it is paired with a podcast for adults and educators called Sparkle Cast.

Little Stories for Tiny People

These stories aren’t just for tiny people. They’re for bears, dragons, rabbits… and people of all ages. Enjoy these sweet stories as a family, or let your children listen on their own.

Circle Round

Circle round often focuses on fables and always has a message. Though in my own storytelling, I prefer to have children find the moral or the message on their own, these stories are wonderfully produced and fun for the whole family to listen to. Their storytellers are often celebrity guests.

Storynory

This podcast from England is a wonderful mix of original stories, classic fairy tales, myths, poems, and strange modern adventures. The stories are beautifully told and beautifully read. My only complaint is the background music (which may not bother you at all, but is the nit-picky reason that I don’t listen to this podcast as often).

Stoopkid Stories

For 3rd graders and all the way up through 8th graders (and beyond), these are beautifully told modern stories by Melissa Victor about finding joy and overcoming challenges in everyday life. The stories introduce big topics like bullying, self-esteem, friendship, racism, the internet, discrimination and more, all through story. This is a new podcast, started in January 2020, and its a great podcast to listen to alongside your children and discuss what they hear. This just might be my favorite new podcast.

Buttons and Figs

This is a very quirky, very fun podcast all about words and the ways we can play with them. Nonsense literature, poems and songs are what its all about. This podcast has a slightly homemade feel, but is so enjoyable!

Story Seeds

Have you ever wondered how great children’s book authors do what they do? This wonderful podcast lets you learn more about their process, in conversations that are interesting to adults as well as young aspiring authors. Children ages 6 - 12 discuss their story ideas with a published author and grow their “story seed” into a full story. Their discussions go beyond the page to real-life experiences, global topics, and thoughts that the children and authors have. Another great podcast to listen to and discuss alongside your children. It may inspire you to write a story together!

Julie's Library

I absolutely love Julie’s Library, which features Julie Andrews, her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, along with authors, children, and other guests. This is a great podcast for discovering new books, hearing new perspectives, and finding great activities or questions to pair with each book. My favorite episode was “From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea”, but there are many wonderful stories and episodes to explore.

Book Club for Kids

This podcast was created to help children become life-long readers. It features interviews with authors, interviews with kids and teens in book clubs, and recommended books for a wide variety of ages (though it is mostly focused on middle grade books (grades chapter books for grades 3-8). You’ll hear celebrity guests read stories and book discussions.

Bedtime Explorers

There’s nothing like reading to your child before bed, but if you’re ever hoping to lie down next to your child and join them in listening/ relaxing before bed (or a nap!), Bedtime Explorers is a wonderful choice. Each story introduces elements of meditation to help you relax and tells a sweet, soothing story to send you into a good, solid sleep. Even their soothing theme music sometimes makes me yawn -- in a good way!

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