Nook Simple Touch reader is an interesting choice.
It has touch screen, so the user can touch the screen very, very lightly to turn the page.
Plus, there is [unofficial] way to connect an USB keybaord to Nook Simple Touch reader. I do not know how far the development is, because last time I looked a few weeks ago, it was very fresh news - just a rudimentary support.
You might want to look into that.
You could purchase a chep USB keyboard and hack it to a large, comfortable external controller for turning pages or selecting books. Or they could hire some hacker to make the controller, using electronics pulled from an USB keyboard.
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...se-a-keyboard/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...0#post21669750