For the past couple of weeks my 4-year-old has been experiencing Bookboard, an eBooks service that is like Netflix for books. (I received a free subscription, by the way, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.)
The way Bookboard works is that your child gets an instant, small library of books to read. After reading two or three books, new books get “unlocked” which adds to the collection and provides motivation to read more. Bookboard has more then 400 books to choose from.
The unlocking idea is highly addictive. (If Netflix was like that I would never get off the couch.) Thankfully, this is books we’re dealing with. It’s okay to addict your kids to reading, which is good because my preschooler is really committed to unlocking new books.
So far my daughter has spent 4 hours and 13 minutes reading 97 books, which is the same as eight television shows. That’s equivalent to $644 worth of books from the store, or nine family trips to the library.
Another thing I appreciate about Bookboard is that many of the books are on audio. I can click an icon, and have everything on the shelf be audio-only books that will be read aloud. Then, I can go cook dinner, while my daughter reads.
Unfortunately, the Berenstain Bears books are not on audio. Those are my preschooler’s favorites, and she often calls me over from the stove to help.
Another drawback is that Bookboard is not available on Kindle … yet. We have been reading on our desktop. But I could see how if you did have an iPad, Bookboard would be even more impressive. It would be a portable library on the go.
My final thoughts? I really like it! Bookboard is a nice compliment to Starfall.com.
For more information about Bookboard, check out their website.
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