The Yoto Player for older kids: Audiobooks for 7-10 year olds

Disclaimer: This post features Yoto Cards we were sent free of charge for review, alongside cards we bought ourselves. Words, opinions and photographs are mine. This post contains affiliate links; you can read my disclosure policy here.

Updated October 2026: This article is based on our experience with earlier Yoto Players and the audiobooks my children enjoyed when they were seven and eight. Yoto has since launched fourth-generation players, and its Club membership has changed, so I have updated the buying information. I have not personally tested the new fourth-generation models.

When my children were seven and eight, their Yoto Players were among the most-used gadgets in the house. Between them they had the original Yoto Player, which lived in the eldest’s bedroom, and a Yoto Mini belonging to my son. Stories at bedtime, entertainment in the car and something to listen to without staring at yet another screen: excellent inventions, all round.

They are older now, but I still think Yoto deserves far more attention as an audio player for seven-, eight-, nine- and ten-year-olds, rather than something exclusively for tiny children. There are proper novels, funny series, adventures and fascinating podcasts. Some of the audiobooks have even managed the near-impossible feat of keeping me entertained on a long car journey.

Are Yoto Players Good for Older Children?

Yes. The appeal changes as children get older: instead of nursery rhymes and five-minute stories, ours wanted series they could get stuck into, books they already loved in print and something new to listen to at bedtime. Having their own player meant they could choose what to hear, rather than asking me to read one more chapter when I was already half asleep.

The Mini was particularly handy for travelling. Once a card’s audio has been downloaded while the player is connected to Wi-Fi, it can play offline, and a headphone socket is a wonderful invention when nobody else in the car fancies listening to the same chapter for the third time. You can also use the Yoto app to play content from your library through your phone and, if your car allows it, over its speakers.

I loved being able to listen along sometimes. The Secret Garden and Roald Dahl brought back memories of my own childhood, although I appreciate that not everybody wants to revisit the more terrifying bits of The Witches while navigating the M4.

There are plenty of shorter cards for younger children, including PAW Patrol stories, but the real joy for school-age children is the variety of longer audiobooks. Below are the stories that went down particularly well in our house.

The Best Yoto Cards for 7–10 Year Olds: Our Favourites

These are genuine recommendations from our own collection, rather than a list of whatever happens to be on sale this week. Card availability, bundles and prices do change, so check the current listings before buying.

The Cookie Books by Konnie Huq

Konnie Huq’s Cookie books are a wonderfully funny choice for children around eight and up. The series follows a bright, determined girl who has plenty of problems to solve, including the sort of everyday unfairness that seems to befall children approximately every eleven minutes. We particularly enjoyed Cookie and the Most Mysterious Mystery in the World, in which Cookie has to work out how to communicate with her Nani when she visits from Bangladesh. Check the Yoto Card store for the current selection.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Yes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid works surprisingly well as an audiobook, despite being famous for Greg Heffley’s illustrated diary. The stories are funny, familiar and easy to get into, especially for children who have already read the books or who enjoy school-based comedy. Both of mine took to them.

Roald Dahl Audiobooks

I grew up with Roald Dahl, so I had a particular soft spot for these. There’s something reassuring about the stories, even when the adults are appalling and somebody is meeting a deeply unpleasant, chocolate-related fate. We enjoyed Matilda and The Witches, and there are other classics to explore.

If you fancy a slightly more ambitious family listening experiment, I also spotted a French-language collection. Whether it teaches the children French or simply confirms that none of us can understand a bloody word is another matter. For English-language stories, look at the Roald Dahl collection, which has included narrated versions of the classics.

Individual recordings are worth a look, too: James and the Giant Peach has been available read by James Acaster, while George’s Marvellous Medicine has been available read by Romesh Ranganathan. I wouldn’t quote an old bundle price here because the catalogue and offers have changed since we first bought our cards.

The Famous Five Collection

We were sent the Famous Five collection, and it was a brilliant way to fill long journeys. Enid Blyton’s gang seem to survive almost entirely on sandwiches, ginger beer and an astonishing lack of adult supervision. The eight-story collection we tried ran to more than 32 hours, which is a lot of entertainment for a family holiday. Check what is included in the current bundle before ordering.

Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson is ideal for children who are beginning to enjoy bigger adventures. Percy discovers that his father is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, and suddenly normal school problems seem rather less important. We had a bundle of the first three books, which gave us nearly 27 hours of adventures, monsters and Greek mythology. I’d particularly consider this series for confident listeners towards the upper end of the age range.

The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher

I originally bought The Danger Gang as a physical book for my youngest, who absolutely devoured it. He enjoyed listening to the audiobook too. If your child likes fast-moving, funny adventures and oddball characters, this is a great one to investigate.

Ultimate Football Heroes

My son also developed a rather intense interest in the Ultimate Football Heroes collection, despite having a mother whose knowledge of professional footballers is frankly embarrassing. He got one card through Yoto Club and was preparing to spend his birthday money on more when we were sent the remaining cards. He was delighted; his sister considerably less so. For football-obsessed children, it’s a lovely way to encourage listening to longer biographies.

More Yoto Cards For Older Kids Worth Considering In 2026

The Yoto card selection has grown enormously since we first started using our players, and there are now some brilliant options for older children who want something a little more substantial than a twenty-minute bedtime story.

The Wild Robot Trilogy by Peter Brown is one we haven’t tried yet, but it’s firmly on my list of recommendations to investigate. It follows a robot called Roz who finds herself stranded on an island and gradually learns to survive alongside the wildlife. The complete trilogy is available on Yoto, and it looks like a fantastic choice for children who enjoy science fiction, adventure and animal stories.

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide by Louie Stowell is a brilliantly funny series about the notoriously badly behaved Norse god who is banished to Earth in the body of an eleven-year-old boy and expected to behave himself. Naturally, this goes spectacularly badly. If your children enjoy cheeky humour and characters who make consistently terrible decisions, this is a great choice.

For children who enjoy more serious stories, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo is absolutely worth listening to. Set during the First World War, it’s a moving and sometimes heartbreaking story told through the eyes of a horse. It’s beautifully written, although I’d recommend considering your child’s sensitivity to sad or upsetting themes before choosing it.

The Chronicles of Narnia is another excellent choice for children ready to tackle longer adventures. Talking animals, magical worlds, epic battles and the occasional deeply unpleasant witch. There’s a reason these stories have been popular for generations, and they’re particularly good for children who enjoy getting properly absorbed in a fictional world.

Finally, the Escape Room Collection is a great option for older children who prefer mysteries, puzzles and suspense. It’s particularly appealing to children who enjoy gaming and solving problems, offering something a little different from traditional fantasy adventures.

With the exception of The Wild Robot, these are all stories we’ve read or listened to ourselves, and I’d happily recommend them. The beauty of Yoto for older children is that there’s no need to abandon it once they’ve outgrown the younger stories. There’s plenty to keep them entertained well into their tweens.

Free Podcasts and Other Things to Listen To

You don’t have to buy a new card every time you want something different. Podcasts were another big hit in our house, particularly when the children wanted to learn something or listen to a story without committing to an entire novel.

We enjoyed The Week Junior for age-appropriate discussions of news and current affairs, Fun Kids Science Weekly for all sorts of fascinating science, and Story Quest for entertaining tales. Check which podcasts are currently offered through the Yoto app, as availability can change.

There are also Make Your Own cards, which let you link suitable audio or playlists to a physical card. That’s particularly useful as tastes change, or when your child has finished listening to something approximately seven minutes after you’ve paid for it.

Which Yoto Player Should You Buy in 2026?

Since I wrote the original version of this article, Yoto has released fourth-generation versions of both the full-sized Player and Mini. They arrived in September and October 2026, so the photographs and hands-on comments above refer to the earlier devices we actually owned, not the new models.

The fourth-generation Yoto Player and Mini have 64GB storage, improved connectivity and a programmable Green Button for getting to favourite audio without hunting down a card. Yoto lists the Player at £119.99 and the Mini at £89.99 at launch. The larger Player is designed more for bedrooms and home use, with a night light and stronger speakers; the Mini is smaller, portable and now has IP67 water and dust resistance. Those are manufacturer specifications, not features I have personally tested.

For a child who mainly listens in bed, I’d look at the full-sized Player. For an older child taking it on holidays, to grandparents or on long car journeys, the Mini is worth a serious look. There is one caveat with the newest models: Yoto says that some interactive cards are not yet fully compatible with fourth-generation players, so check compatibility if you already have a collection.

Is Yoto Club Worth It for Older Kids?

We used to pay for Yoto Club and it was one of the subscriptions I genuinely liked: physical cards were a much better use of the money than another terrible magazine with a bit of plastic tat attached to the front. But the membership now works differently from when I wrote this review, so please ignore any old references to two cards for £9.99.

As of October 2026, Yoto offers three Club tiers: Explorer for digital listening, Collector with one card credit per month, and Collector+ with two monthly credits. The prices advertised are £3.99, £7.99 and £12.99 per month respectively, with annual options also available. The card-credit plans offer member discounts, while credits are valid for 12 months. See the Yoto Club information and latest membership details before subscribing.

My advice is to work out how quickly your child gets through audiobooks and whether they like owning the physical cards. A child who listens every night might make excellent use of the subscription; one who goes through a sudden two-week Percy Jackson phase and then abandons the player for six months might not.

My Verdict: Yoto Is Not Just for Little Kids

Our Yoto Players were much more than toddler gadgets. They gave the children some independence over their listening, provided an alternative to screens and got us through a fair number of car journeys without everybody arguing over the radio. There are loads of audiobooks for seven- to ten-year-olds, and plenty that older children and adults can enjoy too.

If you’re comparing different devices, you can also read my guide to children’s audio players. It was originally published in 2023, so check the model dates when comparing the older devices. And if you already own a Yoto, start with the stories your child genuinely loves rather than buying an entire collection because some blogger has told you that you must. Yes, I appreciate the irony.