MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Which E-reader for Kids?

CountryGirl · 12-01-2010, 10:11 AM

We are planning on buying e-readers for our kids for Christmas. We are going to be moving oversees and want to have easy access to books for a our voracious readers. Since the kids read so much, I'd like to have access to a large number of free or inexpensive books so we aren't constantly having to shell out the money to buy new ones (but of course we will some times). We like current books but the kids also love older books and classics such as those I've found on Gutenburg, Manybooks, and Amazon's free book (or $.99) selection. I'm leaning towards the Kindle but am concerned if not having ePub capability will be a huge drawback for our needs or will we be able to find enough free books on Amazon to keep the kids satisfied? We will still have access to our library website back here in the US which has a small selection of ebooks from overdrive (I think only about 350) but I don't think our library's small colleciton of ebooks is enough of a reason to sway me to the ePub format on its own. But, can I use some of those other sites I mentioned (Gutenberg, Manybooks, etc) with the Kindle or do most of those free sites use ePub format as well?

If not the Kindle, then what would you suggest? My second choice is probably the Nook Wi-fi. As long as we are getting a e-reader, we'd like to get one with Wi-fi (but not 3G since it won't work for us when we move) and audio playback capability. I think we also want one with e-ink as opposed to the color ones or others with backlit screens since its primary function is as a replacement for books. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

12-01-2010, 10:11 AM	#1
CountryGirl Member Posts: 14 Karma: 306 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	Which E-reader for Kids? We are planning on buying e-readers for our kids for Christmas. We are going to be moving oversees and want to have easy access to books for a our voracious readers. Since the kids read so much, I'd like to have access to a large number of free or inexpensive books so we aren't constantly having to shell out the money to buy new ones (but of course we will some times). We like current books but the kids also love older books and classics such as those I've found on Gutenburg, Manybooks, and Amazon's free book (or $.99) selection. I'm leaning towards the Kindle but am concerned if not having ePub capability will be a huge drawback for our needs or will we be able to find enough free books on Amazon to keep the kids satisfied? We will still have access to our library website back here in the US which has a small selection of ebooks from overdrive (I think only about 350) but I don't think our library's small colleciton of ebooks is enough of a reason to sway me to the ePub format on its own. But, can I use some of those other sites I mentioned (Gutenberg, Manybooks, etc) with the Kindle or do most of those free sites use ePub format as well? If not the Kindle, then what would you suggest? My second choice is probably the Nook Wi-fi. As long as we are getting a e-reader, we'd like to get one with Wi-fi (but not 3G since it won't work for us when we move) and audio playback capability. I think we also want one with e-ink as opposed to the color ones or others with backlit screens since its primary function is as a replacement for books. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!