All About the Yoto Audiobook Player

1. It's not cheap.

2. My kids have never been big audiobook fans.

Turns out, the Yoto has completely surprised me and has been 100% worth the investment... and I want to share why.

But first, if you're not familiar with the Yoto audiobook player, it's a screen-free way for kids to play audiobooks. Kids have control over volume and chapters, and you can take the Yoto completely "offline" so it's great for road trips, too! You purchase cards with individual audiobooks on them, and can play them through speakers or with headphones.

• Even little ones are able to operate the Yoto player. We got one mini player for each of our kids (ages 4, 5, 8, and 10), and they are used every day.
• There are so many options for great books!
• You can use the built-in speaker or headphones.
• The Yoto players can go into "offline" mode at any time (great for road trips!), but still work to listen to the desired audiobook. We generally keep the Wifi on long enough to download the cards, then disconnect the players.
• I can control volume limits and other settings from an app on my phone.
• When you order the cards from Yoto, they immediately download into your Yoto app so I can send them to the kids' Yoto players even before the physical cards arrive in the mail.
• You can also use the Yoto as a Bluetooth speaker, so you can play books through it, even if they aren't part of your Yoto card collection.
• The audiobooks are the very best quality. We haven't encountered an annoying or dull voice. They are all produced with excellence and come through the speakers very clearly.

• It's pricey. The mini players have the same functionality as the larger players, so we chose the Yoto minis due to price... but still, the books are also expensive.* I do think if you have multiple kids, you'd probably (eventually) want multiple players. If your kids love these as much as mine do, they'll be listening all the time. Also, you can purchase cards for less on Facebook buy/sell/trade groups. So make sure to check that out!
• You *can* record or upload your own MP3s to blank cards, but the process can feel a little tedious. 

*Becoming a member of the Yoto club is an economical way to get more books! There are currently three membership tiers to choose from: Explorer ($4.99/month), Collector ($9.99/month), and Collector + ($16.99/month). All tiers include unlimited access to 200+ Yoto Originals (digital), and members-only radio stations, sleep sounds, and timers. The Collector and Collector + tiers include 10% off everything in the Yoto store, monthly club credits to spend on new cards, and (the best part!) free shipping on every order over $15. The free shipping alone has made it worth it for us!

Bottom line: Our kids - all four of them - love listening and will listen for hours. As it turns out, they didn't dislike audiobooks. We just didn't have a great way to listen to them. Until now! This has been a worthwhile investment for us and would make a wonderful gift. You could even ask grandparents to purchase some cards for you! These are also perfect for road trips as they can go completely offline and the kids will happily listen to a book of their choice for hours. 

Side note: It's been helpful for us to keep all the cards in one place. I found this $10 credit card holder from Amazon that fits the cards perfectly (up to 96 of them!) and keeps them from getting lost. Also, we love these headphones for kids. 

• My First Classical Music collection* - all four kids love listening to these cards while they read other books or during rest time. 
• The Boxcar Children collection
• The Henry Huggins collection
• Stuart Little by E. B. White
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White* (narrated by Meryl Streep)
• Ratatouille
• Tangled 
• Cars
• Finding Nemo
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• Stories from Shakespeare
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery*
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• The Magic Tree House books (all are wonderful, and the kids love reading along with their paperback books)
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo