Summer time is finally here! While the official start to summer hasn’t happened yet, people are already in the summer frame of mind.
I work with children through the local school district. We still have 16 days left until the end of school, and many kids are counting the days because they are anxious to start their summer adventures.
Many families like to hit the road and travel during the summer months. It’s sometimes more fun than flying (and less expensive).
If you have ever taken a long road trip with children you know how incredibly board they can get. “Are we there yet?” as got to me the most annoying words to hear when you are traveling. I annoyed my dad so much on a trip to Florida when I was younger that he put me and my sister on a plane back home instead of driving back home with me from Florida to New York (the frequent “potty stops” didn’t help either). LOL!
When my kids were younger I would try and come up with fun things for them to do in the car. We never really traveled too far (an hour to the country fair, and hour to the beach…), but they would get board about 10 minutes into our trip.
I used to keep a large zippered bag in the car filled with on the go games, coloring book, crayons, water and snacks to keep the kids amused when we were in the car. I would have packed books too but it’s not easy for some people to read in the car. Myself and my daughter for example get “car sick” (motion sickness) when we try and read in the car when it’s moving.
One thing we never tried were audiobooks. Audiobooks are real books that are read to you. They used to come on tapes, then CDs. Now you can download them online and listen to them on your devices.
Honda has an app that gives Honda drivers access to five free audiobooks per year, with more than a hundred titles to choose from, simply by entering their vehicle’s VIN number. It’s called Honda Road Readers.
Honda Road Readers provides audiobooks for children and teens that are both educational and entertaining. They are a great alternative to the usual car ride.
With expertly curated reading lists, meaningful questions and creative activities to complement some stories, you can shift your family’s summer car rides into high gear.
I don’t drive a Honda, but I was given access to the FREE app to check it out. I was very impressed by the number of books available. There are many titles I am familiar with (great classics) and some I have never heard of before but look interesting.
You can access the app on your device (smartphone, tablet) and listen to the books you download on the go.
I downloaded Winnie the Pooh on the app.
What I love about the story that I downloaded is that it includes music and sound effects. If you close your eyes you can imagine Winnie the Pooh and friends doing the things the reader is talking about.
A cool feature about this app is that you can set a sleep timer which will allow your child to listen to a book being read to them for the amount of time you wish to set it for (5 minutes, 20 minutes…). I like that idea. Of course, nothing replaces a book being read to a child by their parent/grandparent, but when that option is not available, this would be a great substitute.
You can also bookmark where you left off so you can pick up on the same spot when you are ready to continue listening to the story.
The stories also come with questions you can use to engage with your child/children with.
You can browse the books, read synopsis of them, listen to a sample from the book and find out how long the book takes to listen to (for example, The BFG by Roald Dahl has a run time of 4 hours and 25 minutes).
The books are broken up into chapters so you can listen chapter by chapter, or simply let it continue to play. It’s totally up to you.
I LOVE this app and I have been enjoying the books I have downloaded thus far (Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and Racing in the Rain).
If you would to learn more, or to register for an account, visit HondaRoadReaders.com online. You’ll have to set up a free account online before downloading the app (Honda Road Readers).
I have some FREE download codes to give to lucky readers, compliments of Honda Road Readers. Fifteen (15) lucky readers will each win a code that will allow for TWO (2) audio book downloads.
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end on June 19, 2016 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winners will be chosen at random using a random number generator. The winners will be contacted via email and will need to reply promptly (no later than June 1st) or a new winner will be chosen in their place.
To enter please comment on this post and tell me why you’d like to win this prize – or – tell me about a road trip you plan on taking this summer.
For extra entries you can use the Rafflecopter widget (below) but you must complete the initial entry requirement or the additional entries won’t qualify.
Kimberly
*I received free download codes in exchange for my participation. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
MelodyJ says
I’ve never had an audio book. i love paper books so much i didn’t look at the other options that closely.
Nancy says
I’d like to have these audio book options because our family would enjoy them.
Farrah Shumway says
We are taking all of our kids (6) on a road trip from So Cal to Washington state for our family reunion☺
Crystal McKinley says
We love audio books especially on long road trips!
Marci says
We will be taking a road trip to Oregon!
heather says
I would so love to win this one because I drive a lot and love to listen to audio books. I am planning a trip to the beach this summer and this would be great.
susan smoaks says
i love to listen to books. i want to take a road trip to denver colorado this summer.
Deborah says
I would like to win this because I love to listen to audio books!
Thank you for the giveaway!
ANTOINETTE REID says
I would love to win to help reach my book reading goal for the summer.
Sand says
I would love to win because I love audio books! I’m able to finish a book or two a week.
Rhiannon says
Hi did you give out all your codes? I just found out about the app today and I’m headed out on road trip without fam and would love some cheap/free books for the kids (4) for the ride:)