Audiobooks and Read-alouds for five- and six-year-olds

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The following is a list of books that I either read to my kids at the age of 5 and 6 or audiobooks my kids listened to at that age. The fabulous thing about a lot of these titles (not all in this list) is that older kids won’t be bored with them. If you are looking for a book to read to your children of different ages, many of these are a great choice.

To find excellent recommendations for other books to read aloud with your children, read my post The Case for Reading Aloud and Audiobooks.

Don’t forget to check out my post about free audiobooks online.

 

My kids (and I too) LOVED the Lulu series:

Lulu and the Brontosaurus
lulu and the brontosaurus

Lulu Walks the Dogs
lulu walks

Lulu’s Mysterious Mission
lulu mission

Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon  
my fathers dragon

Henry and Mudge As of now, there are about 28 books in this series. Click here for a list of them.
henry and mudge

Mouse and Mole
mouse and mole

Aesop’s Fables for Children
aesops fables

The One and Only Shrek!
the one and only shrek

Wolf Under the Bed
wolf under the bed

Maynard Moose Tales
maynard

Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales
nelson mandelas favorite

Arnold Lobel Audio Collection
arnold lobel audio

Frog and Toad CD Audio Collection
frog and toad audio

The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection
the mouse tales audio

Danny and the Dinosaur
danny and the dinosaur

Mercy Watson
mercy watson set

Magic Tree House (series) Click here for the complete list.
magic tree house

George’s Marvelous Medicine
georges marvelous medicine

BFG
BFG

Twits
twits

The Magic Finger
the magic finger

Fantastic Mr. Fox
fatastic mr fox

The Witches
the witches

James and the Giant Peach
james and the giant peach

The Enormous Crocodile
the enormous crocodile

Just So Stories
just so stories

Cam Jansen Mysteries
cam jansen mysteries

Clementine Here is a list of all titles in this series.
Clementine

Ivy and Bean Here is a list of all titles in this series.
Ivy and bean2

Murmel Murmel Munsch (We have the older version The Best of Robert Munsch)
murmel murmel munsch

The Minpins
the minpins

Half Magic  I am sure they would have loved the other books in the Tales of Magic series because they both loved this one (my son listened to it at 6, my daughter at 8 so I guess it is one of those books that is popular with a wide range of ages). Update: We have read two other books in this series and they enjoyed them too.
half magic

Dinosaur Habitat My son was 5 when we read it. He loved it.
dinosaur habitat

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
charlie and the chocolate factory

Stuart Little
stuart little

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
otherwise known as sheila great

Ms. Piggle-Wiggle  Our kids’ favorite—my daughter likes to listen to the books even now in 3rd grade; she’s loved the books since kindergarten.
ms piggle wiggle

Geronimo Stilton
geronimo stilton

The Enormous Egg
the enormous egg

The Great Brain My kids (6 and 8) liked it it. I wouldn’t read it to a 5-year-old though.
the great brain

The Boxcar children For a complete list of the books in order click here.
boxcar children

The Littles (series)
the littles

Ragweed (Tales from Dimwood Forest series)

Matilda
matilda

The Story of Doctor Dolittle  My son, 6 loved it, my daughter, 8 didn’t care for it much.
dr dolittle

The Cricket in Times Square We listened to this book on our way to Disney and loved it.
the cricket in timesquare

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Although the vocabulary is a bit difficult at times, it can be explained. My kids listened to this book when they were 5 and 7 and loved it.
the miraculous journey of edward

The Indian in the Cupboard
the indian in the cupboard

The Doll People (4 books, click here for a complete list of them in order)
the doll people

Charlotte’s Web
charlottes web

The New Kid at School and Revenge of the Dragon Lady I am sure my son would listen to all of the other books in the Dragon Slayers’ Academy series but I’ll let him read it instead. He LOVED them.
the new kid at school

The World According to Humphrey and then we read all the other books in this series.
the world according to Humphrey

Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One
soupy saturdays

Frankly, Frannie series For a complete list of titles, click here.
frankly frannie

Junie B. Jones (series) You can find a complete list here.
Junie B. Jones

Judy Moody (series) You can find all books about Judy Moody here.
Judy Moody

James Herriot’s Treasury for Children
james Herriots treasury

One Beastly Beast
one beastly beast

Moongobble and Me (series) For a list of the books in the right order click here.
moongobble and me

The Mouse and the Motorcycle The sequels can be found here.
the mouse and motorcycle

The Spiderwick Chronicles Here is a complete list in the right order.
spiderwick chronicles

Dragon Rider My son refused to play or do anything else until he finished listening to this book. He sat on the couch for hours.
dragon rider

Gotcha! (Science Solves It)
gotcha

Toys Go Out
toys go out

Toys Come Home
toys come home

Pippi Longstocking
pippi longstocking

The Children of Noisy Village Astrid Lindgren is a great author. This book has been one of my daughter’s favorites since she was 5 or 6. We read it in Czech because it is very popular in the Czech Republic. However, I have scanned reviews of the English version and people in the US rave about this book as well.
the children of noisy village

Lotta on Troublemaker Street Another gem by Astrid Lindgren. Check ratings and read reviews here.
lotta

Emil’s Pranks My daughter read the book in Czech and enjoyed it (more reviews are here). Like all other Astrid Lindgren books, this one didn’t disappoint. It is even better for little boys. You can find more titles about Emil on Amazon (then check the ratings on www.goodreads.com, or check out other books by Astrid Lindgren on www.goodreads.com)
emils pranks

The Hobbit My son LOVES The Hobbit. I read it to him in Czech (which was probably harder for him than if we had read it in English). He says it is one of his favorites of all times. He was 6 ½ when we read it.
the hobbit

The Big Big Big Book of Tashi For a complete list of books in Tashi series click here. My son is reading this book independently right now but I’ve read reviews (and believe them) where people mentioned it was a great book to read aloud to younger kids. Each page has a big picture and only a few sentences. There is a picture of a map at the beginning of the book and my son constantly follows Tashi’s journey there (Dragon’s Cave, Giant’s castle, Mountain of White Tigers etc.). The stories about Tashi’s adventures are available in separate books. I just chose one that contained more stories together. I also discovered a website about Tashi books.
the big big big book of tashi

The Giggler Treatment
the giggler treatment

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang My kids loved this one.
chitty chitty bang bang

 

The Chocolate Touch
the chocolate touch

Catwings (My son loved this series–he read it on his own in 1st grade)
catwings

Tales from the Odyssey  A great read-aloud for kids 5 or 6 and up. We listened to the audiobook.
tales from the odyssey

The Monster’s Ring
monsters ring

Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher
jeremy thatcher dragon hatcher

Homer Price (my son listened to this audiobook two months before he turned 7 and I m not sure if he would have enjoyed it a year ago–save it for later if you have a five-year-old)
homer price

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ö 1 Dog = Chaos (funny and short)
8 class pets

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
the hoboken chicken emergency

The Secret World of Og
the secret world of og

A Mouse Called Wolf and other stories by Dick King-Smith. A lot of parents recommend books by this author. We read this one and liked it.
a mouse called wolf

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig
the adventures of the south pole pig

Mr. Popper’s Penguins
mr poppers penguins

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever For a list of books in The Herdmans series click here. It is hilarious as a lot of reviews said. We are currently listening to the other books in this series.
the best christmas pageant ever

Here is a list of other books my kids didn’t listen to but are recommended on several websites for this age group.

Mrs. Noodlekugel
mrs noodlekugel

Letters From Father Christmas
letters frm father christmas

Twelve Kinds of Ice (recommended as read-aloud for winter)
twelve kinds of ice

The Box of Delights Try to find this edition which is unabridged and has beautiful illustrations.
the box of delights

Nancy and Plum
nancy and plum

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
the life and adventures of santa claus

Letters to Anyone and Everyone
letters to anyone and everyone

The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties
the squirrels birthday and other parties

The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook
the milly molly

Favorite Thornton Burgess Animal Stories
burgess animal stories

PeeWee’s Tale
peewees tale

Tumtum & Nutmeg
tumtum and nutmeg

Beyond the Pawpaw Trees and its sequel The Silver Nutmeg
beyond the pawpaw trees

A Matter-of-Fact Magic Book: No Such Thing as a Witch For a list of books in this series click here.
no such things as a witch

Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
jacob two two and hooded fang

Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur and Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case
jacob two-two and the dinosaur

You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum! To get a better idea about this series, click here.
youre a bad man mr gum

Stig of the Dump I am not sure if this book is more appropriate for boys or if girls enjoy it too. Read the reviews to find out more.
stig of the dump

Five Children and It Read more reviews here.
five children and it

The Wind in the Willows A classic many people swear by. We tried it but it was too lyrical for my daughter. My son liked it but we didn’t continue reading because I want to read to both of them. I guess it depends on your child–either they enjoy it or not.
the wind in the willows

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
frisby and the rats

Bogwoppit  A lot of people recommend it for this age group but it is probably not well known. Read more about it here.
bogwoppit

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  Oz books (click here for a compete list) are very popular with children in this age group.
the wonderful wizard of oz

Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods/On the Prairie/etc.) If boys are bored, you can skip to Farmer Boy.
little house

Mary Poppins
mary poppins

Akiko series, e.g. Akiko on the Planet Smoo
Akiko

The Twenty-One Balloons
the twentyone baloons

Mrs. Pepperpot Stories
mrs pepperpot

Princess Tales   If your daughter likes fairy tales, this series is apparently very popular with a lot of girls (e.g. The Fairy’s Mistake, The Princess Test and others). My daughter is not a fan of fairy tales so she will probably never pick these up. Many Moms read these stories to their 5-year-olds so they are good read-alouds for princess lovers. I have seen books by Gail Carson Levine recommended by parents on quite a few discussion forums.
princess tales

The Trumpet of the Swan This book is probably rather poetic but my son likes that type of books. He enjoyed Stuart Little so I have it on my list.
the trumpet of the swan

The Princess and the Goblin
the princess and the gobblin

Marigold and the Feather of Hope, The Journey Begins  For a complete list of books in The Fairy Chronicles series click here.
marigold

Martin’s Mice Check out the ratings and reviews here.
martins mice

The Worst Witch Check out great ratings, reviews, and other titles in this series here.
the worst witch

Jenny and the Cat Club  Read reviews here.
jenny and the cat club

The Iron Man  The title was changed to The Iron Giant to avoid confusion with the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Read more about this book here.
the iron man

Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age More reviews can be found here. Something a bit different, parents recommend to read it together with your child.
ug

Wolf Story
wolf story

The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly Parents read it to younger kids, suitable for very young kids but also for 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds. I don’t know the reading level but if somebody finds out, please, post it in comments!
the tales of tiptoes lightly

Gooseberry Park 
gooseberry park

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (A Fairy Dust Trilogy Book)
fairy dust and the quest

The Night Fairy
the night fairy

Lady Lollipop
lady lollipop

Boo’s Dinosaur
boos dinosaur

Two Times the Fun
two times the fun

Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff
prince puggly

Owls in the Family
owls in the family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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