E-readers and Ebooks for Kids, a Growing Trend
In the last couple years ebook readers have gone from small time to big time, with more and more book-lovers turning to the electronic devices for their reading needs. By now, you probably know many adults who own a kindle or a nook or perhaps an ipad. But did you know many young adults and children are using the devices these days too?
Kids adapt easily to new technology (often more easily than us older folks!), so it’s not all that surprising. Too, the affordability of newer model ebook readers (many available for less than $150) is making them a more likely gift for children as young as eight or nine.
There are even studies suggesting the devices can help children become better readers (look up Kansas University professor, Lotta Larson, for her work with kids and e-readers), thanks to read-aloud, note-taking and highlighting capabilities. The adjustability and interactive features allow kids to read in a way that’s comfortable for them.
Finding Ebooks for Children In the beginning, it was rare to find children’s ebooks in the online stores, but that’s changed in the last year or so. While some of the classics are priced on the high side for ebooks (I saw the Kindle version of Watership Down priced at $13 at Amazon!), there are deals to be had as well. In addition to the classics and popular mainstream titles, you can find enjoyable children’s stories from indie authors, often priced more affordably than offerings from the big publishing houses. At Amazon some of these kids ebooks
are as low as $0.99.
Good E-readers for Children
With the advent of color-enabled readers, we’re going to see more and more ebooks for children. Look for an onslaught of special devices, designed with little hands in mind, as well. Some e-readers specifically for children are in the works, and some are available now. Check out Fable, a table and reader for children. The V-reader and V-flip from VTech are already out and are more affordable than adult systems.
If you’re looking to buy one e-reader that the family can share, consider a color nook or an ipad, both of which can display illustrated children’s ebooks. The ipad comes with a steep price tag, but allows movie watching, music listening, and game playing as well as book reading. Numerous apps in the Apple store are tailored for entertaining and educating children. They can teach reading, writing, and mathematics in fun ways.
The usefulness and versatility of these tools ensures e-readers and ebooks are here to stay for children as well as adults.
