15 Best Websites to Find Free Online Books for Kids

Yes, you can encourage your children to read (without going broke).

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One of the best things you can do for your child is to instill a love of reading at an early age. Reading can improve their language and writing skills, encourage a healthy imagination, and increase their comprehension skills. Reading can also boost their creativity. Who doesn’t love to get lost in an imaginary world every now and then?

You can promote healthy reading habits without going broke, though. You can find places to read books for free online, and many websites offer free audiobooks for kids and free online books for kids. If you want to fuel your child’s love for reading, here are 15 websites where you can find free online books for kids (and what you need to know about them). Also be sure to check out some of the best riddles for kids.

  • Barnes & Noble Free Kids eBooks
  • Amazon Free Kids eBooks
  • Storyline Online
  • Oxford Owl
  • Open Library
  • Good Reads
  • Project Gutenberg
  • Overdrive
  • Magic Blox
  • Wilbooks
  • The Library of Congress
  • International Children’s Digital Library
  • BookSpring
  • Free Kids Books
  • Storyberries

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Barnes & Noble Free Kids eBooks

Barnes & Noble is a popular bookseller that has hundreds of stores across America, but they know how convenient it is to sell books online. That’s why they offer eBooks—and they even offer free online books for kids. They’re called “NOOK Books,” meaning they’re available on NOOK devices and the free NOOK apps. Kids can enjoy reading classics, new releases, and best sellers. They can find a cozy spot, grab their NOOK, and read an incredible book with ease!

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Amazon Free Kids eBooks

The next time you’re on Amazon, don’t forget to browse for free e-books for your children. Amazon offers free Kindle eBooks for kids, and you don’t necessarily need a Kindle to download them. If you download the Kindle app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, your kids can read these free eBooks. If you’re on Amazon, click on the Kindle Store, click “Kindle eBooks,” then click “children’s eBooks,” and toggle the category to “Top 100 free.” Voilà—you have 100 free options to choose from!

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Storyline Online

Storyline Online is an award-winning website that features actors and actresses reading children’s stories on video. It’s a program of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps provide children’s literacy programs to the public. Kevin Costner, Oprah Winfrey, Kristen Bell, Betty White, and Rami Malek are just a few of the readers in this program. The goal of each book is to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners. Kids can follow along by reading subtitles, and they’ll get some glimpses of the animated artwork throughout the videos.

Explore Storyline Online

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Oxford Owl

Oxford Owl is a website established by the Oxford University Press. It’s dedicated to helping children learn multiple subjects, including math, writing, and reading. The website has an entire section dedicated to free eBooks for children. There are many fiction and non-fiction books to choose from, plus the books are divided up into age groups, so you can select one based on your child’s age. It’s worth noting that their eBooks do not work on mobile phones and should be viewed on a computer, tablet, or laptop to work properly.

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The Library of Congress

In addition to being the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress is also the largest library in the world. It has a lot of free resources that encourage kids to read, write, and get inspired. You can explore the site to find free books your children will love, including classic stories you may have read as a child.

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Open Library

Another website to get free online books for kids is Open Library. Open Library is part of Internet Archive, a non-profit library that has millions of free books, movies, music, and more. The website currently has more than 37,000 works for children to explore, including literary classics like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and David Copperfield. There’s also a section where you can find books for children based on their reading level, ranging from preschool to 12th grade.

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Goodreads

Goodreads is a website that lists a ton of information on books. You can look up what new books are out, where you can find your favorite book, and you can even look up inspirational quotes by your favorite authors (like some of these book quotes). Goodreads also has a section where you can browse their free eBook shelf. They’ve also listed out the best free Kindle Ebooks for kids. It’s a great place to explore free online books for kids—and some books for you, too!

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RELATED: 27 Classic Children’s Book Quotes Every Adult Needs To Hear

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Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg offers a library of more than 60,000 free eBooks, and they have an impressive collection of children’s books available online. You can sort the books a number of ways, including which children’s books are most popular or which ones are newer. Classic titles include The Secret Garden, Little Women, and Black Beauty. Let your kids browse and discover some of the best children’s stories around!

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OverDrive

OverDrive is an incredible website for book lovers of all ages. If you have a library card, you can borrow and read free ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines using your phone or tablet. There’s a children’s book section where you can filter based on what type of book you want to borrow, such as audiobooks or free Kindle books. There’s a huge list of books to choose from, so we wouldn’t be shocked if your kids found their new favorite books on this website.

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MagicBlox

Another great option for finding online books for kids is MagicBlox. MagicBlox is an online children’s book library where kids can read stories on their computers and laptops. You can search in certain categories, including featured, new, and award-winning books. MagicBlox does require you to buy an Access Pass to read their books, but each option comes with a 14-day free trial, so you can get free books for two weeks while you try out the subscription.

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Wilbooks

Wilbooks is a website where you can find free online books for kids who are in kindergarten through third grade. Some of the book topics include facts about animals, brain busters, jokes, and educational fiction stories. Simply select the grade level your child is in and get to reading!

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International Children’s Digital Library

If you want your child to read stories from all over the world, the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL) is a great place to find those stories. The ICDL is part of the International Children’s Digital Library Foundation, a nonprofit organization that encourages children all over the globe to read. The free online library has children’s books in 59 languages from numerous countries. Take a look at the website to access free online books for kids that goes beyond the borders of your home.

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BookSpring

BookSpring is a nonprofit organization based in central Texas that aims to help children own more books, build literacy, and help develop a lifelong love of reading for children and their families. The nonprofit has a number of programs families can participate in, but one of its coolest features is a free online digital library of eBooks for kids. BookSpring partnered with Unite for Literacy to develop this library for children between the ages of three and eight. Kids can read about topics like animals, family life, and holidays. The library is also available in Spanish.

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Free Kids Books

The name of this website is exactly as it sounds. You can use this website to find free online books for kids, and there’s a lot of options to explore. You can read the books online or download them as PDFs. You can sort books based on your child’s age, grade, and what subjects they’re interested in. You can even rate the book your child read and reviews!

Explore Free Kids Books

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Storyberries

If you’re looking for free bedtime stories for your child, Storyberries is the website for you. Storyberries offers free fairy tales, bedtime stories, and poems for children. The website also allows you to choose stories based on a number of factors including your child’s age, the topic of the book, and how long it takes to read the story. This comes in handy if you’re looking for a 15-minute bedtime story for your child. The website also provides read-along videos your child can watch. Some stories also provide questions to ask your child after the story wraps, which can lead to insightful conversations between you and your child about what the story means to them.

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Happy reading!

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Kelly Kuehn
Kelly Kuehn is a former editor for Reader’s Digest who covered entertainment, trivia and history. When she’s not working you can find her watching the latest and greatest movies, listening to a true-crime podcast (or two), blasting ‘90s music and hiking with her dog, Ryker, throughout the Finger Lakes.