Does it take the family a long time to drive through all the school traffic and the drop-off line? Try listening to an audio book as a family in the car. Listening to audio books is a great way to increase attention spans, vocabulary, a lot of other benefits that reading physical copies of books can give you. At Saline County Library we have over 1,200 audio books just in our children’s and juvenile (middle grade) sections between our Benton and Bryant locations.  

For a more peaceful commute we have two different types of audio books. We have audio books on CD, which you can play in any CD player, and we have CD players for checkout behind the children’s desk for those of us that don’t have CD players on hand anymore. We also have books on playaway. A playaway is a portable mp3 player that just needs a AAA battery and a pair of headphones with an audio jack, or for your car, an aux cord. Playaways are portable and easy to use with simple controls, making it easy for any age to use.  

Don’t forget our e-libraries too! We’ve got Libby and Hoopla that you can download on the app store. You can use your library card just like you would in the building by checking out, putting on hold, and returning audio e-books that you can listen to whenever you’d like. If we don’t have a physical copy of an audio book you’re looking for, try looking in Libby or Hoopla next! 

For great audio books to listen to with the whole family, maybe on a spring break road trip, or just a long commute over a few days, check out the following titles: The Magic Treehouse Series for shorter, magical, and episodic reads; The Land of Stories Series for those interested in fairy tales; The Spiderwick Chronicles for a different spin on the magical world in your backyard; A Rover’s Story for a newer listen about a robot with heart; Holes for a more realistic read about making the right choice with some buried treasure thrown in; The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place for fans of Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee with some added mystery; Mr. Lemoncello’s Library for families interested in puzzle solving, team work and Willy Wonka; Flora & Ulysses for a lighthearted animal tale about superheroes, squirrels, and friendship.