We started our summer with a road trip from Nashville to West Texas. Honestly, if it’s just me and the kids, I prefer driving over flying. I can pack as much as I want, stop whenever we need to, and keep our crazy contained. Of course, driving poses the challenge of what to do in the car for over 40 hours round trip. One thing that makes our family unique is that we don’t give our kids screens in the car. They had a bucket of other activities in the backseat, and I had a stash of snacks to hand them every ten minutes. 

We passed most of the hours, with audiobooks. It can be challenging to make selections that are enjoyable for everyone, so I’m sharing a highlight reel of our most recent trip.

·     Audio Collection by Kevin Henkes -Both of my kids love Kevin Henkes. His books are long enough to make some miles pass, rich enough not to be annoying, and relatable enough for everyone to enjoy. Whether it’s Owen learning to leave his fuzzy yellow blanket behind or Louise teaching Sheila Rae to be brave, we can all find something to love.

·     Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo-These are humorous beginning chapter books, so again, they are long enough to get us from one town to the next. Repetition, silliness, and simple characters allow the kids to visualize and stay engaged with what’s happening. 

·     Dr. Seuss Collection-Honestly, these are not my favorite, but the kids both love the rhythm and rhyme. I refuse to read most of his books aloud because they are insufferably long, so this feels like a compromise.

·     William Steig Collection-The three-year-old definitely needed the hard copies to follow these stories, but with picture support, she was totally engrossed. The vocabulary is rich and the stories are sweet and endearing.

·     Bonus! When the three-year-old was sleeping, the nine-year-old and I enjoyed our first taste of Louis L’Amour. We had to pause and talk through a lot, but I think it was worth it!

Note: We got all of these from our library, so it didn’t cost us a dime. Ask your children’s librarian if they have Vox Books or Playaway kits. If you don’t have the Overdrive app, what are you waiting for?