The Best Stories for Kids via a Podcast

Circle Round

If your kids are a wide range of ages, then I would highly recommend you try Circle Round, my 3 year old likes this show, but also it’s entertaining for me, so how’s that for a range? Each episode is a re-telling of a folktale from around the world. The stories are captivating and a different person voices each character in the story, which makes it super engaging for kids.

A real quick story about Circle Round, one day our family was waiting in the Lowe’s parking lot to pick up a new washing machine (yay for new appliances!), and of course I turned on a kid podcast, because that’s what I do and it happened to be a Circle Round episode. Everyone loved it including Scott and I and when the Lowe’s employees brought the washer to put in our van Scott and I were super bummed that we had to miss part of the story that I actually considered pausing the episode and making my kids sit in silence so that Scott and I wouldn’t miss any of the episode. I didn’t do that, but I did make my 5 year old tell me what happened when we got back in the car.

Each episode is about 20 minutes long and I would recommend listening to the Friendly Podcast Guide episode about Circle Round, where I give details about the show and share a short clip to give you a feel for the vibe of the show.

Otter Space

If you’re looking for a more cinematic experience I recommend Otter Space. This kid podcast started as a screenplay for an animated film. It’s about two otters that end up in outer space and have to save Earth. This podcast is written for kids ages about 5 or 6 to 10. Each episode is about 15 to 20 minutes long and there are 10 episodes in the first season.

This story makes the most sense if you start with episode 1: Beginnings. The show goes in a specific order, so if you don’t start at the beginning your kids will be a bit lost.

Kid Podcast Guide

Before I tell you about more great stories for kids we’re going to take a quick break to talk about my guide to kid podcasts. One of my favorite parenting tools is kid podcasts. I use them when I’m running errands with the kiddos to keep them from complaining the whole time. Or when I need a mom break, I’ll just grab an easy activity like coloring pages or a sensory bin, turn on a kid podcast and the kids will be entertained for at least half an hour. I know that kid podcasts would help you in your life too, which is why I made a guide to kid podcasts.

There are eight categories ranging from science to mindfulness to audio drama with at least three podcasts in each category, there are 27 podcasts in total on the guide. I’ve listened to each of the podcasts on this guide, so I can attest to them being kid-friendly. And I put my email at the bottom of the guide so that if you try a couple with your kids and none of them are a good fit, you can email me and I will personally help you find a kid podcast that works for your littles and you. You can grab this guide at the link in the show notes.

Story Pirates

Story Pirates is a unique podcast, because each episode moves the story of that season along, which is usually a silly pirate-ey adventure that centers around the story pirate crew that get into all sorts of shenanigans. Within the episode there are interludes of sketch comedy and songs that are taken from stories that kids send in. The episodes are around 30 minutes long and it’s written for kids that are elementary school age.

You can start with any episode that strikes your kids’ fancy, but if you want the whole experience I would recommend starting at the very beginning Season 1, Episode 1: I Love a Ghost/ Fred the Carrot.

The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian

If your kids are anything like mine, then they are probably fascinated by space (if you can’t tell from the earlier recommendation of Otter Space). Another great space kid podcast full of stories for kids is called The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian. Jonathan Messinger, the host, describes the show like this: the story centers on Finn Caspian, an 8-year-old boy aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station. He and his friends Abigail, Elias and Vale are Explorers Troop 301, taking off from the Marlowe to explore uncharted planets, help the occasional alien, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the Marlowe.

This show is for elementary age kids and I would recommend starting with the introduction episode (the one before episode 1) so that you can get all of the goodness from the very beginning.