I've been listening to podcasts in the van with my kids lately. They are ages 2 & 6 and now whenever we get into the car, they both loudly request that we listen to their current favorite (whichever that is). I learned about our favorites through the ZooGlobble blog (also an excellent resource for discovering great kids music), but I thought I'd share our favorites in case you, or your library patrons, are seeking something different to listen to on an upcoming road trip (or just across town to get some groceries). All of these podcasts are free to download and listen to and you can subscribe to them so that you get notifications when new episodes are available.
These are ranked in order of preference of my 6 year old son:
#6 -- Story Pirates Podcast
"Kids write stories, we act 'em out and kids write more" says their theme song and that's pretty much what this podcast is all about. Kids' original tales (complete with ridiculousness and non-sequiturs) read in their original form, then dramatically re-enacted by the Story Pirates cast, often with extra music and sound effects and sometimes story details added in.
#5 -- Gather 'Round Kids
An improv group tells kids stories around the microphone. The recording quality on these is uneven (some voices are often louder than others), but my kids both enjoyed this whole series.
#4 -- Shabam!
Hilarious, fast-paced science drama adventure! Learn interesting scientific information within a storyline about a zombie epidemic. This is one of my favorites to listen to!
#3 -- The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified
Retro-styled antics of a radio reporter named Eleanor Amplified. Follow her adventures as she is aided by a motley crew of characters (including "Captain Conn Seannery") in their attempts to thwart and expose the evil plottings of Angela Brandt and her corporation MegaBlurg.
#2 -- The Imaginary Accomplishments Podcast
Silliness in the extreme! A variety show being broadcast from a rocketship exploring the galaxy, hosted by two large space bunnies, Marvy and Finch. My favorite feature are the ads for things like "Holitos, the snack that's only holes." Tons and tons of puns, you might need to listen to this one more than once to catch all the jokes as they're often quite subtle and I'm guessing that many go over my son's head, but I still enjoy them.
#1 -- The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian
This is the podcast that my son asks about every day when I pick him up from school. "Is there a new Finn Caspian yet, mom?" (New episodes come out each week!) An original space adventure written and hosted by Jonathan Messinger and his "editor" and son, Griffin. We are huge fans of the robot character (I won't spoil the surprise of his name which we don't learn until a few episodes in). My librarian self LOVES that this podcast includes tons of literary references, not only to classic kid lit but also to really great fresh, current books for kiddos. Top marks!
Do you have favorite podcasts for kids? Please share a link and description in the comments section below! I hope you discover a new favorite here on this list!
No comments:
Post a Comment