I’m not quite sure how long ago I found out about Librivox but I love free resources and audiobooks could be expensive if you had to buy them. I enjoy homeschooling using Librivox and using Librivox for personal growth. There’s two different ways that I use Librivox so I will share those with you first.
1. Download audiobooks for old cellphone or iPod via the Librivox website. Yes, we still own old tech that doesn’t have WiFi or use apps and read more about this on our post –Digital Devices for Homeschool. Librivox online works very well with these types of devices. You go to Librivox via PC and find a couple classic Literature titles. Then you can download them chapter by chapter or zip file or via iTunes!
2. Use the free Librivox app or the paid ad-free version to listen to audiobooks on the go! No waiting for your turn like Overdrive. If you download the audiobooks to your device then you won’t use up your data when off WiFi.
Related posts: Free Apps We Use in Our Homeschool, Free Benefits at Ohio Libraries, How I Taught my Son to Read and What is Family Culture?
Classic Literature Books on Librivox
There’s so many books for children that are now considered classic literature available in Librivox that I could write an entire post! I will just list enough to get your mind jogged about the possibilities.
Here’s some classic book titles to look up: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, A Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables, The Jungle Book, Little Women, The Railway Children, The Secret Garden, The Story of Abraham Lincoln,Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,etc.
Fairytale Books on Librivox
Many fairy tales are now in public domain so they are available for free on Librivox. Here’s a list of a few fairy take books to look up: Aesop’s Fables, American Fairy Tales, Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Blue Fairy Book, Canadian Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy Tales, Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folk, English Fairy Tales, Grimm’s and the list goes on and on.
Many fairy tale books are listed on the book lists at Ambleside Online which follows the Charlotte Mason Method.
Poetry Books on Librivox
There’s a wide range of poetry books available on Librivox but I will just list a handful. Here’s some titles I would suggest for children: Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children, Grandma Janice’s Poems and Stories, Poems Every Child Should Know and Short Stories and Poems for Children.
There are also plenty of famous poets for teens and adults along the lines of Edgar Allan Poe, George Gordon, Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, John Milton, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Phillis Wheatley, Walt Whitman OR American Poetry, Chinese Poetry, Poetry of South Africa and over 170 short poetry collections of various artists!
History Books on Librivox
I have found two major history book series called Our Island Story and History of the United States. There’s also over 6 pages of books with the term history in their titles listed on Librivox. I love being able to listen to History which I found very boring as a child and teen because of the requirement to memorize facts and dates.
Nature Study and Science on Librivox
When the weather is nice and sunny outside it’s easy to study science or to add some nature study into you day. Sometimes the weather isn’t so nice or your family is ill but still want to learn so that’s where having a list of nature study and science books will be good.
Some of our favorite authors include: Anna Bostford Comstock, Arabella B. Buckley, Clara Dillingham Pierson, John Burroughs,Thomas Gilbert Pearson, Thornton W. Burgess, and William Ruschenberger
Homeschooling and Parenting Books on Librivox
There’s a few of Maria Montessori’s books available through Librivox along with Charlotte Mason’s Home Education Series Volume 1. I recently found a book by Ellen G. White written 100 years ago about Christian education which I will add to my list of books to listen to while gardening this Spring!
Finding Favorite Readers on Librivox
You can find your favorite readers very easily on the Librivox app. Once you hear a reader you like you can find more books read by that person by searching for that person’s name in the search box.
Finding Lists on Librivox
If you want to search already curated lists that are public on Lbrivox there’s a very easy way to do so. First you want to open the Librivox app (I paid for the Pro version to avoid ads but this worked in the regular free version as well.)
Then look in that top green bar and click on that LITTLE GREEN TRIANGLE! Next this drop down list should pop-up. Then click on LISTS.
This screen will pop up with a SEARCH line at the top. Type in the name of the LIST you want to find.
Here’s a few lists that I have shared:
AO Year 0,
AO Year 1
AO Year 2, etc
Exploring Nature with Children.
Then you can listen to the audiobooks from that list! Easy peasy, right?
If you searched for the Exploring Nature with Children list then you should see the above image or something very similar. Happy listening and nature study!
Favorite Ways to Listen to Librivox
I utilize earbuds with a mic or wireless earbuds in order to work on social media or do household chores. If I am listening to a book with my children we use a speaker so everyone around the dinner table can hear. I have the Librivox app downloaded on any device that will allow it.
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