What does story time look like at your house? In our house, after the girls have their bath, brush their teeth, and change into their jammies, Kay plays quietly in the living room while Tee curls up with Mommy or Daddy on the big beanbag chair in her room for some quality story time. One of my favourite moments in the day is settling down on that beanbag chair and reading three stories with Tee before bed. She loves picking out the stories, and then it’s her special time with Mommy or Daddy to reconnect and snuggle before going to sleep.
Kay’s story time happens during the day while Tee is at school or whenever I can grab her attention. Happily, over the last couple of weeks she’s started spontaneously bringing me books to read to her. Olivier Dunrea’s Gossie & Friends books are her faves right now. Story time is special in our house, just like it probably is in yours, and I treasure the time I spend with my kids passing on my love of reading.
Kobo’s New Kids’ Store
I’ve been buying and downloading eBooks from Kobo for a little while now, but I didn’t realize until very recently that they also have a PTPA Approved Kobo Kids’ Store with almost 100,000 child-friendly titles. Books can be sorted by age, series, favourite characters, teen reads, or read-along editions (more on this in a minute).
Kobo also offers a simple to use kid’s account that filters out books unsuitable for children under 18. I went to my own account and set up a subordinate account for Tee on my laptop, then I logged her into her account on our Kobo Arc 7HD. Right now I’ll download books for Tee, but when she’s older I can prepurchase an allowance on her account which will let her pick and pay for her own books.
Kobo has all the popular characters and series that kids love. Tee was really excited to see books about Doc McStuffins, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, as well as her favourite Disney characters from Frozen, Brave, and Tinkerbell.
And me, I was happy to discover that the Kobo Kids’ Store has a good selection of read-along eBooks. Tee’s four and she knows her letters and the sounds they make, but she’s not quite ready for independent reading yet. With the read-along feature though, even if I’m busy making dinner, she can “read” her books by herself. The words are highlighted as they’re being read aloud which helps Tee associate the spoken words with their written counterparts. We both LOVE this!
The first eBook we bought was Mortimer by classic Canadian children’s author Robert Munsch. Remember Mortimer who wouldn’t be quiet at bedtime?
Clang, clang, rattle-bing-bang
Gonna make my noise all day.
Clang, clang, rattle-bing-bang
Gonna make my noise all day.
Without pointing any fingers, let’s just say this is not an unusual occurrence in our house either. The coolest thing is that Robert Munsch himself is reading the book out loud.
When Tee’s a little older I’m looking forward to introducing her to the entire Harry Potter series and the classic Anne of Green Gables books I enjoyed as a child. And for older teens, Kobo has popular YA titles like The Divergent Trilogy, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Book Thief.
The Kobo app comes preloaded on all Kobo tablets. You can set reading goals with your kids and track their progress, and older kids can make use of the Dictionary Lookup and the ability to highlight text and make notes. Installing the app on any of your devices allows you to download and sync your books and bookmarks on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
March is Kobo Kids Month
March is Kobo Kids Month which makes it the perfect time to check out the Kobo Kids’ Store and take advantage of some great promotions. Download the free Kobo app (not Windows 8) before March 30 and you’ll receive Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey for free. Or if you’re in the market for a PTPA Approved eReader, pick up any Kobo tablet at Indigo, Best Buy, or Future Shop in Canada until March 27 and you’ll receive this free Kids Starter Pack of eBooks worth $30.
If you’re undecided about which one to choose, we’ve been really enjoying our Kobo Arc 7HD. It’s speedy and responsive, and honestly the HD screen is just beautiful. Its 323 pixels per inch display delivers noticeably sharper text and pictures and make reading on the Arc 7HD a pleasure. A more basic Kobo eReader would be perfect for younger kids, but because we all use this one, I appreciate its full Google Android functionality and all the bells and whistles.
Do you read eBooks? Why or why not?
Exciting update! Join me on March 20 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time for a Twitter chat with Maggie Stiefvater, bestselling author of Shiver. We’ll be giving away five Kobo Arc 7HDs! Follow @ptpa and @kobo. Watch #KoboKids.
Disclosure: I am part of the PTPA Brand Ambassador Program with Kobo, and I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
I just love how the kids are so very excited to read on the Kobo…and having their own account certainly helps things! I’ve got to try out some of the more-kid-friendly books with my 5 year old…my 7 year old likes the chapter ones…and doesn’t like sharing as much.
Yes, my 4 year old loves that they’re HER books and she doesn’t have to worry about her little sister eating them. 🙂
I’ve been reading more and more ebooks for myself. I can’t remember the last time I bought a paper book. I’ve just started getting into them for children’s books and I love it. Any book we can think of is at our fingertips!
I still buy some paper books, but I’m definitely transitioning to more eBooks. I love the instant gratification/download aspect of it.
My DS8 has recently been reading on his KOBO. We got him the entire MAGIC TREEHOUSE series. He reads for half an hour every night in bed. The Kobo is great!
I think the technology aspect excites kids to read more. And that’s a good thing!
OMG – I would love to hear Robert Munsch reading his own stories! What a wonderful way to experience books with your kids.
Pretty cool, hey? There are a bunch of books I’d love to hear the authors read aloud. I bet Sandra Boynton would rock Hippos Go Berserk!
I have been using my first generation Kobo for a few years now and I realized it was time for an update when my five year old said it was hard to read, LOL. Looks like I am in the market for more then one 🙂 I love the idea of the Kids Pack for March to. Great way to just jump right it!
Definitely! My kids are too young for them, but I’m not ashamed to say I was checking out Shiver.
My girls have a Kobo! So easy for them to have all the books they love, right at their finger tips (and without having to carry around a huge bag of books everywhere we go)
Great for travelling or for kids who can’t pick just one book to take with them. (Not that we ever have that problem around here. No sirree.)
Thanks for doing this write up. We’re a big Kindle house hold because we use Amazon Prime and can borrow some of their book selection for free. We do use the ebooks, but I still prefer a hard copy.
I like paper too, but I’ve been transitioning to more eBooks lately. They save on space and are so convenient.
This is awesome – we love Kindle and iPads around this house!! I may need to get this starter kit!! Laila would love it!
I used to have a Kindle, but I prefer the Kobo Arc I have now. Way better screen!
I assume that the Kobo Kids books will only work on the Kobo readers or the desktop app? I couldn’t download it on another tablet? I have an old version of the Kobo, but I think the Kobo Kids store is an awesome idea and would love to get some books for my daughter! Just have to figure out the device option! 🙂
Yes! You can download the Kobo app for any Android tablet, iPad/iPhone, or smartphone and get KoboKids books. You can even sideload the Kobo app on a Kindle Fire. They do try to make it as easy and accessible as possible.
I’ve never heard of Kobo, but the read along feature sounds perfect for us. My daughter is going to turn 5 next week and she can read some words but not all…I think that would really help. And she’d be just thrilled to see a Doc McStuffins book!
Yes! It’s so nice for pre and early readers. My 4 year old is a huge Doc McStuffins fan too, and I love how it motivates her to read her books!
I’ve never heard of a Kobo, but I really want to get one for my girls! They love being read to. being able to read ebooks would be great!
I really like this feature too. Check them out! 🙂