Free Audiobook Apps for Homeschool Families: How We Use Hoopla and Libby

I have to tell you about two free apps that can add so much joy to your homeschool day: Hoopla and Libby.

My children and I love a good story. Whether we are crafting and coloring, heading to a homeschool meetup, or spending a sick day at home, audiobooks have become a beautiful part of our family rhythm.

Paper books are wonderful, and my kids still read plenty of them (our checkout limit for physical books is 50 per library card… ask me how I know 🙃🫠). But most of that reading they do independently. Exploring a new audiobook together adds a different layer to our learning and, surprisingly, our bonding.

What Are Hoopla and Libby?

Hoopla and Libby are both free apps that many libraries offer to their cardholders. You can download them from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, enter your library card information, and begin borrowing digital materials.

Both apps offer access to ebooks, magazines, and audiobooks for children and adults. We personally use them for audiobooks, but both platforms also allow you to read digital books on a device.

Every library system is a little different, so the exact books available to you may depend on your local library. A library in Miami-Dade may have different titles than a library in Duval. Even though families may be using the same app, each library has its own collection, licenses, and lending options.

Hoopla vs. Libby: Why We Use Both

We use both Hoopla and Libby because they have different catalogs of books.

Hoopla is awesome because titles are generally available instantly with no waitlist, as long as you have borrows remaining for the month. If you see an audiobook in the Hoopla catalog, you can usually borrow it right away instead of placing it on hold.

I also love that Hoopla has a Kids Mode with an optional PIN. This can make it easier to filter the experience so children are browsing kid-focused content. Depending on your comfort level and your child’s age, this may make it easier to let them explore selections more independently.

I love Libby because it often seems to have a wider audiobook selection, at least in our experience. The downside is that Libby often works more like a traditional library system, in that some books are available immediately, while others require you to place a hold and wait your turn.

Sometimes the wait is only a day or two. If it is a popular title, it could be up to a few weeks. I am currently on hold for a book where I am number 144 in line, and the library has nine digital copies. We will get it eventually, but we have to wait our turn.

Libby also has content controls, including a Libby for Kids setting, but the setup and experience are a little different from Hoopla’s Kids Mode. Libby says the Kids preset hides general and mature titles from Library and Search, but it does not hide titles already on the Shelf or Tags screens, and all loans can still be opened. It is worth looking at the settings in both apps and deciding what works best for your family.

Some libraries also allow you to express interest in titles they do not currently own through Libby’s Notify Me feature. It is not available everywhere, and it does not guarantee the book will be added, but it can let your library know there is interest. You can also request additional titles be added by contacting your local library system directly.

I recommend checking both apps; we have both and use them weekly. Between Hoopla and Libby, we have found so many wonderful books for our homeschool.

Audiobooks Have Helped Us Learn Together

My homeschoolers currently range from second grade to sixth grade, and audiobooks have allowed us to share stories across those ages. We have listened to books for lower elementary to lower middle school, and everyone has been able to participate in the conversation in their own way.

This has been especially helpful because I can be part of their reading experience in real time. My children read independently a lot, sometimes they come to me when something is confusing, funny, uncomfortable, or hard to understand, but I’m sure sometimes they do not. When we listen together, I get to hear the story as they are hearing it. I can pause during the complicated parts, ask questions, explain context, point out things I want them to notice, and help them process the story as it unfolds. That has been one of the greatest gifts of family audiobooks.

Audiobooks Make Big Conversations Easier

One of the beautiful things about books is that they let us approach big ideas through story.

Through the books we have listened to, we have talked about many big topics such as grief, faith, poverty, religion, prejudice, courage, kindness, forgiveness, the resilience of the human spirit, and much more. I pause the audiobook to ask open-ended questions, make comments, and ask for questions as we work our way through untangling big ideas.

I might ask questions like:

Often, there is no one perfect answer, which is one of the beautiful parts of human interaction. I would like to think those conversations help my children learn how to examine ideas, understand people, and process the world around them with more compassion and wisdom.

Earlier this year, we listened to The World in Between, a children’s novel based on a true refugee story about a boy living through the Bosnian War. It included difficult topics like violence, prejudice, starvation, poverty, and fear. But it also gave us opportunities to talk about kindness, hope, resilience, forgiveness, courage, and adaptation.

It was not always an easy book, but for our family, it was a powerful one.

A Gentle Reminder to Vet Books

We love living books, and we have been blessed by so many wonderful recommendations from educators and homeschoolers I deeply admire. But I have also learned to be more careful.

Some books that are considered classics or beloved living books have not always been the right fit for our particular family, at least not at the ages my children were when we encountered them. Sometimes it was because of our morals, our faith, our family culture, or simply the maturity level of my children at the time.

That does not mean those books are bad. It also does not mean another family should avoid them. What feels appropriate, useful, and beautiful in one homeschool may not feel the same in another.

So I always encourage parents to proceed with wisdom, no matter whose book list you are using. Our children’s hearts are in our hands, and that is something worth taking seriously.

At the same time, some books with heavier themes have led to the most meaningful conversations we have ever had. That is part of the beauty of reading together. Books can open the door to important discussions in a way that feels natural and thoughtful.

Audiobooks Do Not Replace Read-Alouds

I am not saying audiobooks should replace paper books, family read-alouds, or independent reading. We still love those things.

Earlier this year, we wanted to read The Last Egret because it connected to a field trip we were taking, but we could not find the audiobook version. So we read it aloud together instead, taking turns with the book. It ended up being one of our sick-week memories, and it was such a sweet experience in hindsight.

Audiobooks are not a replacement for that.

But they are a wonderful extension.

They allow us to listen while I cook, while the kids build with Legos, while we eat lunch, or while we drive across town. They let us keep learning and discussing even when my hands are busy or we are on the go.

Why Audiobooks Are Worth Trying

I really have no negatives to share about roping audiobooks into our homeschool days.

Some books have made us laugh. Some have made us think. Some have made us pause and sit with hard ideas. Some have opened the door to conversations I am not sure we would have had otherwise. That is the beauty of sharing stories together.

So if you have a library card, I highly recommend checking to see whether your library offers both Hoopla and Libby. Between the two apps, you may find a whole world of free audiobooks that can enrich your homeschool day.

Happy listening, and happy homeschooling!