Features

12 of the best book and storytelling podcasts for kids

From retellings of ancient myths and fairy tales, to entertaining interviews with some of the greatest children’s authors, these podcasts are perfect for book-loving children.

An image that shows 12 different podcasts on a bright yellow background with an orange splodge that has yellow doodles within it
Image: Flynn Shore for Penguin

Puffin Podcast: Mission Imagination

An image of the Puffin Mission Imagination podcast. It shows Puffin logo above the title in multicoloured writing which is then above an illustration of an open book. At the top there are small illustrations of books flying in the air. All of this is on a bright blue background

Are you surprised that we’re kicking off with our very own Puffin Podcast that won an Aria Award this year? Hosted by comedian, actor, and Celebrity Gogglebox star Babatúndé Aléshé, every episode he and two Puffineers team up to whisk young listeners away on an adventure to a magical world. Each week they’re joined by one of our fantastic Puffin authors – and guest appearances so far have included Humza Arshad, Greg James, Robin Stevens, and Jen Carney. Our new season kicks off in August and spoiler alert: it’s going to be the best one yet. Stay tuned!

Story Pirates

An image of the Story Pirates podcast logo. It shows the title in black writing above a pirate flag that features a skull and crossbones on it. This is on a bright blue background with lighter blue lines

The crew behind the award-winning Story Pirates podcast is a renowned group of top comedians, musicians, authors, and teachers who take stories written by kids and turn them into comedy sketches and catchy songs. As well as interviewing the kids behind the stories, they’ve had some super special guests too including Julie Andrews, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristen Bell, and David Schwimmer.

Girl Tales

An image of the Girl Tales podcast logo. The title is in purple and white and in a 3D font style. Behind the title is a pink line drawing of a fist holding a wand. This is on a light blue background with a darker blue starburst.

Fans of fairy tales, myths, and legends will love this podcast that puts a feminist spin on your favourite classics. Hosted by Rebecca Cunningham, all the stories are written by women, non-binary and trans male playwrights, and feature no damsels in distress or princesses in need of protection. The girls in these stories are in control of their destinies. New episodes air every Monday.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Acast

Fun Kids Book Worms

An image of the Fun Kids Book Worms logo. It features a photo of the host Bex who is blonde, wears glasses and is in a red and white striped t-shirt. She is surrounded by illustrations of books and pages flying in the air and behind her is a red, orange and yellow sunbeam. The title is in a big and bold yellow font.

If you’re looking for a book club-style podcast, try Fun Kids Book Worms. Every fortnight, host Bex meets and greets top children’s authors to talk about all things book related and gets them to read chapters from their new books. Some authors who have recently appeared as guests include Chris Smith, Alison Hammond, and Michael Rosen.

Greeking Out

An image of the Greeking Out podcast logo. It shows the title in yellow and orange in a Greek style font sitting atop a Greek column which is surrounded by clouds. At the top is the National Geographic Kids logo and this is all on top of a blue sunbeam background.

You’ll be able to Greek out to all your friends after listening to this podcast by National Geographic Kids. Classic stories of ancient Greece are humorously retold for kids and families and feature all your favourite heroes, gods and goddesses, sea monsters, cyclops, and more. Join Jason as he hunts for the golden fleece, witness Theseus defeat the fearsome Minotaur, and discover how the Olympians came into power.

Buttons & Figs

An image of the Buttons & Figs podcast logo. It shows a black and white illustration of a fig running whilst holding up a button with a ribbon attached to it that has the title of the podcast in black cursive writing.

Some of the best children’s books use wordplay and the Buttons & Figs podcast is all about having fun with words. From puns and acrostic poems, this witty podcast explores all the different things you can do with words and there are even stories written by children.

Storynory

An image of the Storynory logo. It shows a young ginger-haired boy about to kiss a frog and in the background is the sea and the sun setting. The Storynory title sits at the top of the image in a white font.

Storynory is the perfect podcast for little ones to listen to before bed or on long journeys. Featuring traditional stories from all corners of the globe as well as original tales, the soothing voices of the narrators make this calming podcast a must-listen. They typically release a new short story every week.

Circle Round

An image of the Circle Round podcast logo. It shows a yellow and orange illustration of a lions face which is smiling. The title of the podcast sits in the right hand bottom corner of the image in white font on top of two black rectangles.

This creative story podcast has been created and produced by parents of young children. Circle Round takes folktales from around the world and adapts them into radio plays for kids aged between four and 10. They enlist the help of well-known actors, comedians, and authors to help tell the stories, and each episode has original music by award-winning composer Eric Shimelonis.

Book Club for Kids

An image of the Book Club for Kids podcast logo. It shows a circle and within that is an illustration of three children reading a book together. Above them is the title of the podcast in a red font.

Originally starting life as a segment on a radio programme back in 2000, Book Club for Kids has now become its own super successful podcast. Hosted by Kitty Felde who is also a children’s author, in each episode a trio of kids comes together to talk about a middle-grade novel, followed by an interview with the author and a reading of the book by a celebrity. It’s quite literally a book club in your pocket!

Stories Podcast

An image of the Stories Podcast logo. It features a silhouette drawing in green of a dragon and a princess reading a book on a plain white background. The title of the podcast is also in green and sits at the bottom of the image.

Another brilliant podcast for those who love to listen to stories read out loud. The Stories Podcast features retellings of classic tales like Peter Rabbit and Little Red Riding Hood as well as original tales by other writers. Episodes are usually between 10 and 20 minutes long and are perfect for the whole family to listen to together.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

The Story Seeds Podcast

An image of The Story Seeds Podcast logo. The image shows a light green hand holding a red seedling and within it is the title of the podcast in a very dark green font. Surrounding it is a number of illustrations that include a rocket, a book, Saturn, lightning bolts, a pair of binoculars, a megaphone, a cloud and some stars.

This Webby Award-nominated show is different in that it focuses on how to create a story. In each episode, a child aged between six and 12 is matched with a children’s author and they come together to collaborate and write an original story, using the child’s initial idea – the ‘seed’. The author then reads the story out! This podcast is ideal for budding young writers.

What If World

An image of the What If Word podcast logo. The title is in a bold white font on top of a starry sky background. On the outer edges of the image are silhouette illustrations of a witch, a dragon, a robot and a fairy.

Inspired by Skype story time sessions with his nephew, this imaginative podcast sees host Eric O’Keeffe take a ‘what if?’ question from a kid and turn it into a story. What if The Beatles were actual beetles? What if we could turn off gravity? What if a dog was a dentist? This podcast will have you learning and laughing along with the wacky stories.

Puffin Podcast

Tune in to the latest podcast from Puffin. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Audible, Soundcloud.

Listen now

Sign up to the Puffin newsletter

Stories, ideas and giveaways to help you spark young imaginations

By signing up, I confirm that I'm over 16. To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy