Yoto has many wonderful cards available, but we have some excellent news for any Harry Potter fans... Yoto has launched the audiobooks of the Harry Potter series with the original narration by Jim Dale!
Did you know this has been Yoto's most requested series ever? It is so exciting to have it finally added to their library. If you love the series and want to share it with your children, now is your chance.
How many copies of the Harry Potter books is too many? Asking for a friend.
We already own the hardcover and softcover versions (and don't forget the illustrated books!), as well as the Stephen Fry narration for road trips. But when the official Harry Potter Yoto Cards came out, you better believe we needed those too! We were thrilled when our cards arrived in the mail.
Keep reading for more information on the series, including price and run time.
Disclosure: Yoto sent me the first three cards as a gift before I was able to buy them myself! This post and opinions are my own. This post includes affiliate links, which means I earn a few pennies for every dollar you spend at the Yoto store, at no cost to you.
They are available now!
The Harry Potter Yoto Cards hit the store at the end of August, so they are already available in English, Spanish, and French.
Check out the Harry Potter Cards in the Yoto Store!
The US-English version of the series is narrated by Jim Dale, who is an absolutely fantastic narrator. He does different voices for each character and keeps his reading lively and animated. Like so many others, I grew up on the Jim Dale CDs of Harry Potter! Once you've heard his narration, you'll be able to recognize his voice anywhere. I've listened to other audiobooks from him and said "Oh, that's the Voldemort voice!" or "That sounds like Ron!" They are just fantastic.
(The UK version of the series is narrated by Stephen Fry, who is also excellent, but due to licensing restrictions, those Yoto cards are only available for UK buyers.)
The cards themselves are extra special - they have shimmery foil on them! No other cards in the Yoto Store have foil on them so that definitely makes them feel magical.
The Cost
The full series is 116 hours long and comes in various bundle options, but each book is also available individually. You can get the single cards of each card, ranging in price from $29.99 to $44.99.
Here is the pricing of each card, along with the run time:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - $29.99, runs for 8 hours and 18 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - $29.99, runs for 9 hours and 3 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - $29.99, runs for 11 hours and 49 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - $44.99, runs for 20 hours and 36 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - $44.99, runs for 26 hours and 29 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $44.99, runs for 18 hours and 32 minutes
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - $44.99, runs for 21 hours and 36 minutes
How to Get a Deal
First of all, you have to remember that Harry Potter is licensed content, so the publisher sets the price, not Yoto. No charm or potion is going to make it go on a crazy deal.
The publisher's price will be the same across the board. Amazon, Audible, and every other retailer sell the Harry Potter audiobook for the same price as Yoto (or possibly more). This is what an audiobook usually costs, but many of us have gotten used to deals and paying a few bucks for a random picture book that we have forgotten what a full-price audiobook looks like, especially one that is novel-length.
Yes, you can use Audible membership to get it a bit cheaper, but that is only because Amazon absorbs the discount. Amazon is a ginormous company and can afford to do it. Yoto is not the same type of company and will not try to compete with Amazon. I will happily pay the true cost of an item to support a small business like Yoto. We should all be invested in keeping Yoto in business!
Lastly, if you calculate the cost per minute for these cards, they are actually the CHEAPEST content in the Yoto card store. For example, The Book With No Pictures is 9 minutes long and costs $6.99 - a rate of 77 cents per minute. Encanto songs are 45 cents a minute and Mickey Mouse is 41 cents. The Frozen Junior novel is 29 cents a minute.
In comparison, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is just 6 cents per minute, and it's the shortest of the whole series. The longer books are only 3-4 cents per minute.
So, it helps to recognize that you are getting hours upon hours of listening for what is actually an excellent price. All that said, there are a few ways to lower your price by a few dollars.
2 Ways to Save On Official Harry Potter Yoto Cards
1. The first way to save is to buy the cards as a bundle.
Buying them as a bundle is one way to make them a bit cheaper.
- The Complete Collection - On sale for $234.99 (official price is $269.93), runs for 116 hours and 23 minutes
- Harry Potter Books 1-3 - On sale for $79.99 (official price is $89.97), runs for 29 hours and 10 minutes
- Harry Potter Books 4-7 - On sale for $157.99 (official price is $179.96), runs for 87 hours and 13 minutes
The whole series bundle may look pricey. But with the current sale price, you are saving almost $35 if you buy the collection rather than buying each card separately. Absolutely the best option for saving money!
2. You can take advantage of the Yoto Club discount.
The Yoto Club offered a flat 10% off orders over $15 for members. So you can use that discount to get a percentage off any of the cards or bundles.
This brings the cost of the full set down to 211.50, which is 50 bucks off the full cost of the bundle at $269.93.
Should I just wait for Black Friday? Will there be future deals?
No! Don't wait for Black Friday. Yoto is a UK-based company and Black Friday is NOT a thing there. While there may be a small promotion, there is not likely to be a deep discount.
Besides, my guess is that the Harry Potter Yoto Cards will be EXCLUDED from any future promotions.
It is very common for big-name brands to be excluded from any store-wide promotions. For example, Target sells Legos, and while Target also offers occasional promotions like $10 off $50 of toys, the fine print on every Target coupon lists Lego products as excluded, as well as other licensed brands like Marvel, Cards Against Humanity, etc. Those big brands don't allow their products to be included in broad promotions.
So, I would assume Harry Potter cards will not ever be included in Yoto Store promotions.
What age are they appropriate for?
The answer to this question is a bit tricky. Because Harry is only 11 when the series starts, the themes and concepts are suitable for a younger age. I know many kids who were around 6 or 7 when they first started the series, and it wasn't too scary or advanced for them.
However, Harry is 17 by the last book, and the books get more intense as the series progresses. The themes are darker and sad things do happen to many of the characters, including death, torture, kidnapping, etc. The content itself also gets harder to understand as the magic and the situations Harry faces become more advanced and complex.
Because of these reasons, a young child probably wouldn't enjoy or understand them very easily.
Yoto officilaly recommends books 1-3 for age 7+, and books 4-7 to age 9+. Depending on what your kids can handle, you might be better off waiting until they are even older. It really just depends on your child.
Most parents agree that the first trilogy (books 1-3) are appropriate for magic-loving younger listeners, but to wait until at least age 10 for books 4-7, which are noticeably darker and more intense.
I think Yoto understands this, and that's why they offer Harry Potter 1-3 in a bundle.
We aren't trying to scare you off - but just be aware the last few books in the series are more serious and frightening for younger kids so you know what to expect if you've never read them.
The Harry Potter series has maintained its popularity for over 20 years, and it's obvious why. The characters are so relatable and children have loved growing up with them.
We've been listening to these cards nonstop since they arrived - we actually already had to put a second copy on MYO so two different kids could listen at the same time! It reminds me of when my mom made me sit next to my sister on the couch and we both read the same book at the same time. Eventually, she relented and bought two copies. MYO makes it way easier, so if you have several kids who love Harry Potter and you have more than one Yoto player, you can make another copy.
If you love Harry Potter and have been waiting for the chance to introduce the series to your kids, it might be time for you to grab those Yoto cards and enjoy stepping into the wizarding world once more!
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