Nook or Kindle for a 12-year-old?

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by rfortson

My 8 year old will spend hours there reading the physical books. She's been asking for a Kindle (to her, all ereaders are Kindles since that's all she's seen). Now that I have a nook, I could see a nook in her future, but regular old paperbacks still seem to make more sense for a kid. If she loses Lord of the Rings, it's cheap to replace. If she loses a Kindle with LOTR on it, that's a substantially bigger hit.

True. You could get her a Nook that she can use at home. She can only take it out of the home when she is with you and then you carry it for her. It might be a pain in the butt but if she is reading books that you read, potentially Lord of the Rings, then you only have to have one version of the book.

When you think about it, it will take about 10 paperback books to equal the cost of the Nook. If you get her a copy of the trilogy you are looking at $27, if you buy each book seperatly, or $21 if you buy the trilogy in one book. That is 1/4 the price of the Nook.

So if she enjoys books you like and can share them with you the Nook will pay itself off pretty quickly.

It sounds silly but I know there are series that I enjoy that my 8-12 yearld nieces and nephews like, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, so I can easily see where I would be saving money with a Kindle for my older child then buying them the books.

Or I could take them to the library and they can check them out. You can do the same with the Nook.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by rfortson

My 8 year old will spend hours there reading the physical books. She's been asking for a Kindle (to her, all ereaders are Kindles since that's all she's seen). Now that I have a nook, I could see a nook in her future, but regular old paperbacks still seem to make more sense for a kid. If she loses Lord of the Rings, it's cheap to replace. If she loses a Kindle with LOTR on it, that's a substantially bigger hit.

But she's a she; not a 12-yo he.

Anyway, that's cool that she reads. Do you plan to let her read from your Nook?

Once glass substrates are replaced with plastic and the prices fall to the $75-$99 range, ereaders will become more viable for younger kids.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

But she's a she; not a 12-yo he.

Anyway, that's cool that she reads. Do you plan to let her read from your Nook?

Once glass substrates are replaced with plastic and the prices fall to the $75-$99 range, ereaders will become more viable for younger kids.

Or one buys an older version of something sturdy like a Sony 505 for example. I'd give a reader to her. When I was a kid I got all the music equipment I asked for and never shattered anything or lost my possessions. There are kids that value their stuff and others who don't. It's not a matter of age but of personality/character.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Or one buys an older version of something sturdy like a Sony 505 for example. I'd give a reader to her. When I was a kid I got all the music equipment I asked for and never shattered anything or lost my possessions. There are kids that value their stuff and others who don't. It's not a matter of age but of personality/character.

Those glass substrates are easy to break; even by very careful adults.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Or one buys an older version of something sturdy like a Sony 505 for example. I'd give a reader to her. When I was a kid I got all the music equipment I asked for and never shattered anything or lost my possessions. There are kids that value their stuff and others who don't. It's not a matter of age but of personality/character.

The Sony 505 is potentially more expensive then the Nook or Kindle new.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Or one buys an older version of something sturdy like a Sony 505 for example. I'd give a reader to her. When I was a kid I got all the music equipment I asked for and never shattered anything or lost my possessions. There are kids that value their stuff and others who don't. It's not a matter of age but of personality/character.

Yup. There are some adults I wouldn't trust with an e-reader.

Could he end up breaking an e-reader? Of course. They're still relatively fragile. I'm willing to chance that, given what I know about him and his maturity level.

[ProfCrash]

I think that it is great that you are getting him an e-reader.