Ladybird Audio Adventures - Yoto Review

Here at Yoto, we love these original Audio Adventures. They are so much more than your average audiobook and a favourite in many of our Yoto team’s households. This series is geared towards children 4+, but from experience we can tell you the whole family will enjoy going on these audio adventures together.

Created by Ladybird, one of the UK’s leading pre-school publishers, the five adventures, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles, Dinosaur Times, Animal Kingdom, and Deep Sea Dive, use charming and captivating characters, and a combination of sound effects and music to really bring these stories to life. The characters interact with each other, but also speak straight to the audience, leaving kids feeling immersed and involved in journeys that transport them all over the world, under the sea, and through outerspace in time machines, submarines, spacecrafts, and even hover teleporters.

Narrated by Sophie Aldred (Ace, in Doctor Who) and Ben Bailey Smith (aka Doc Brown, rapper, comedian and writer), who brilliantly bring to life Otto and Cassandra the Inventor, listeners are taken on fun and engaging journeys that are full of facts and information. Missy the Raven (not just a raven, the cleverest raven in the universe!), their silly and somewhat sassy sidekick, helps provide the voice of the inquisitive child throughout the adventures, asking questions and learning along with the listeners. The cast manages to make you feel like you’re their friend, adventuring right along with them, while forgetting you’re learning a whole lot too. The series also touches on environmental issues and climate change, in child-friendly ways. 

Be prepared though, you’ll likely be quizzed by your kids after listening! What is a habitat? How many moons does Neptune have?  When was the cretaceous period? Why was the invention of the wheel so important? Our kids were so full of fun facts they just wanted to share them. 

It’s not just us who love these audio adventures. The series was Winner of the FutureBook of the Year Award 2019 and shortlisted for the Best Children’s Audiobook at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020. If you’re looking to spruce up your audiobook library with something educational, but still super fun, or looking to introduce your kids to the world of audio, this series is a great place to start. 

Our favourite title is Deep Sea Dive. (Can you believe a giant squid is one and a half times longer than a school bus?!) Have a listen and we’d love to hear which audio adventure is yours. 

Hear audio previews of all these titles in our Card Store by clicking here!