According to a 2024 Audio Publishers Association survey, audiobooks are on the upswing: Audiobook revenue grew 9% in 2023, with 38% of U.S. adults reporting that they’d listened to an audiobook in the last year (up from a reported 35% the year prior).

Children’s audiobook listening is especially strong, with 53% of audiobook listeners reporting that their kids also listen to audiobooks. More than three-quarters (77%) of those parents noted that audiobooks were a great way to give their kids breaks from screens.

So, how do these findings track with data from our own annual report, which tracks reading data across Sora schools from the 2022-2023 school year and prior?

Students are keeping an ear out for audiobooks

Pretty closely, in fact. Data indicates that K-12 students are reading more audiobooks than ever: between the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, audiobook checkouts increased 17%, to over two million.

While that’s still a relatively small share – 14% – of overall digital book checkouts, the rise of audiobooks shouldn’t be dismissed. They’re here to stay, and as more students realize how convenient and accessible they are – and more parents realize they’re an easy, engaging way to get their kids to read – they’re only going to get more popular from here.

So how can you make sure that your students have audiobook options to last them all year long, through breaks short and long and the school year? And how can you ensure you’re making the smartest possible use of your budget?

This Audiobook Month, get 25-50% off YA and children’s audiobooks (and more!)

This June, it’s a little bit easier during our Audiobook Month Sale, where you can save up to 50% on thousands of the wildly popular titles kids can’t get enough of. This includes perennially popular books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (the most borrowed juvenile audiobook in 2022-2023) or new classics like Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice.

There’s something for everyone, for every age, and it’s all just a few clicks away in OverDrive Marketplace.

To make it easier to find what you’re looking for, we’ve curated lists of the best of the best sale titles for your elementary, middle and high school students. Shop on your own or contact your Sora account team for help building carts of the books you need.