Reading with my children is a cherished routine in our household. It’s something my two daughters look forward to every night. And although we’re always looking for new favorites, sometimes it’s just not easy (or cost effective) to buy a new book. Thankfully, there are a lot of great places to find free online books for kids!
But where to start the search?
Many sites offer a variety of resources, ranging from e-books to full learning programs. And depending on what you’re looking for, it can be easy to get lost on the web. To help narrow your search, we’ve reviewed some of our favorites to help find exactly what you’re looking for.
Storyline Online
Our favorite place to find online stories is Storyline Online. Founded by the Screen Actor’s Guild, Storyline Online features numerous videos of celebrities reading popular books. Each video is also accompanied by activity guides for teachers and is completely free.
The popular sites gets over 100 million views each year and is a favorite among teachers and parents. Unlike some of the other sites offering online books for kids, Storyline Online features popular titles you can easily find in any local bookstore. I was excited to find some of our favorites like Stellaluna and When a Dragon Moves In!
The format of using videos (vs. text-only e-books) is great for young children who may not be reading on their own yet. Each video is also complete with animation which make them excellent at keeping even the shortest of attention spans.
Oxford Owl
If you’re wanting more of a full learning platform, look no further than Oxford Owl. Once you create an account through their site, you receive access to reading and math teaching materials, in addition to other games and activities. The site allows for easy sorting by age and even gives helpful recommendations for the most appropriate learning materials. It’s easy to navigate for first-time users and their e-book library is front and center once you create your account.
Although the site offers excellent materials for parents and teachers, the e-book library is largely comprised of lesser-known titles. While there’s still value in the options they have, there are better online book sites if you’re looking for more recognizable children’s books.
The account creation step is not overly cumbersome and still completely free, however it is an added step before you can access the online stories for kids.
MagicBlox
The next site on our list is MagicBlox.com. Like some of the other sites mentioned, MagicBlox is easy to use and requires no account creation. One of the perks of the site’s e-book collection is that many titles are also accompanied with audio as well. This is great for keeping younger audiences interested.
MagicBlox also helps separate itself from other sites thanks to its healthy mixture of non-fiction children’s books. Whereas most sites feature predominantly fiction books, MagicBlox also covers topics like animals, sports and geography.
If you are seeking a mixture of different types of books, MagicBlox may be a great place to check out. However, unlike other sites like Storyline Online, many of the books are not recognizable titles and only come in a text-only format. It’s also worth noting that although the site does have books covering a wide variety of subjects, they do not have accompanying learning materials.
FreeChildrenStories.com
Highlighted by it’s simplicity, FreeChildrenStories.com features a variety of free, easily accessible online books for kids. Upon landing on their homepage, you’ll find straightforward options to filter by age and book style. One thing we really like about this site is that they have a number of Spanish-language books available as well.
A number of the books on the site come in video format which is always helpful for younger audiences. That said, most of these are incredibly short (less than 2:00) so you may find yourself having to constantly cycle through titles if you’re wanting to keep your child engaged for longer periods of time. For those titles not in video format, the navigation isn’t always ideal, as users scroll down the page when reading. This can cause pictures to not be visible with accompanying text.
Barnes & Noble Nook Books for Kids
Last but not least is the arguably the most recognizable brand on our list, Barnes and Noble.
The popular, nationwide bookstore brand offers a variety of free and available-for-purchase e-books on their site. The detailed filtering options make it easy to find what you’re searching for, whether by age or subject. These sorting options are great since B&N offers a large library of choices, including popular book brands like Disney.
The extensive suite of options is plenty enough reason to give Barnes and Noble’s Nook Books a try, but it will require creating an account to do so. While this isn’t necessarily uncommon for many sites, it is worth noting that B&N also requires a credit card on file, even before making a free purchase.
While nothing beats sitting down with a traditional book, it doesn’t always have to be your only option when introducing a new story with your child. We hope our guide to finding online books for kids is helpful as you start your search!