An Okotoks podcast is giving parents a chance to make the most of a sometimes-chaotic time.
Laurie Wright and Cailtin Bangsund launched the Car Life With Kids audiobook podcast in summer 2023, offering young readers another way to connect with books and giving authors a platform to get their work out there.
“We know what it’s like to be a mom at a soccer game or a hockey rink, driving or chauffeuring,” Bangsund said. “And that’s why we called it Car Life With Kids because you spend so much time in a vehicle driving kids around and you don’t always want them on their iPad, it’s nice for them to do something different where they can learn.”
The team behind the podcast has a history of working together, including time at a marketing agency, and first met as members of the children’s authors community.
“We love working together on various things, when time allows,” Wright said. “Not quite a year ago we wanted to get together and do something else and we’re very motivated by the whole publishing world, children’s books and how can we help?”
Wright is the author of the I Can Do It and I Can Handle It mindful mantra collection, and Bangsund has authored two books in the Marvellous Macey series.
“My books are motivational, and Caitlin’s are to help families going through hard times,” Wright added. “And we both believe in the power of books to do that.”
Wright and Bangsund have seen at home the difference audiobooks can make on children with Wright’s nine-year-old a reluctant reader who loves to listen to books while Caitlin’s daughter Macey has an intellectual disability.
“For her, it’s the added bonus of where she may struggle to keep up with her peers at whatever level of books they’re reading and the audiobook is something she can connect with,” Bangsund said. “Music same thing, things she can listen to really help her remember the details.
“We used it already as something to kill time, but also to be learning and then discovered that it actually can be really beneficial. Her neuro-psychologist really recommended audiobooks for Macey. When you’re tracking with a physical book, that can be really challenging for kids with special needs whereas when you’re listening, you can participate with the class.”
Through their own experiences, the audiobooks have proven to be an excellent resource for learning for the neurodiverse.
Wright, formerly a kindergarten teacher, said the audiobook industry has exploded recently, particularly among adult novels.
Audiobooks for kids through platforms like Amazon are not as popular, she found.
“It’s the same price as a novel and people have to use their credits wisely,” she said. “They don’t go over so well there so that’s why we tried the podcast aspect instead. It’s free, it’s super accessible, you can download them and listen anywhere even if you don’t have WiFi.”
As part of its offerings, there’s instruction offered for authors on how to record audiobooks, most of which in the children’s genre are in the 10- to 15-minute range.
Each episode starts with an intro and outro featuring Macey.
“What we’ve encouraged people to do, because it’s low cost and easy, is to record it themselves,” Wright said. “We give them some instruction, we try to lay it out so it’s clear, use a mic, make sure the baby and the dog is quiet and just record.”
Wright and Bangsund have created an audiobook bingo geared towards road trips or for the classroom. A printable PDF of the podcast bingo can be accessed here.
The Car Life With Kids podcast is available on all platforms with links accessible here.
“Even if you’re really busy, there’s always time for books,” Wright said. “One way or another, there’s always time and there’s no excuse to not be reading with your kids, it’s so important.”
“And parents can struggle with the guilt of, we were rushing again and didn’t have time for bedtime stories,” Bangsund added. “And how good to be able to say, we read through the audiobook today in the car ride home and we’re still igniting that love for reading.”
For more information on Wright go to lauriewrightauthor.com and for Bangsund, visit caitlinbangsund.com.
