First off, no, this is not the photo of me reading an ebook; I don't have a photo of that yet. And second of all, I don't recommend this particular position to read a book in...lol. I was on vacation, OK. Anyway - I did have the opportunity to read an ebook recently. Since it just happened to be a picture book, that's all I can speak about right now.My dad, age 90, just bought an ereader. I was attempting to help him figure something out when my 4-year old niece jumped in my lap. Right at that moment the "library" on his Nook came on the screen and there were a few kid's books on it - the ones that come free with the ereader. So, we figured out how to pull it up. Sonia was far better at figuring it out than I was and no, she had not done this before and is not a techy kid who spends time on the computer all the time. I've read many paper (I'm tempted to say "real"...hmmm...)books to her, so have something to compare the experience to.
If she had reviewed it, I think she would say this... "I liked the story and the pictures. I liked sitting on Auntie's lap and being silly while she read it to me. I didn't really like the one where the ereader reads the book to me - I'd rather hear Auntie, or Mommy or whoever's voice."
And I have to agree with her. I would add that one frustrating aspect of the ereader is that as an adult reading to a child, when the child gets antsy, they can quickly (too quickly), slide their finger a few times and you've lost your place in the book. I'd suggest a button on the bottom of the ereader that the adult can click to keep the book on that page - maybe it's there and I just didn't know. Also, when I wanted to show her that there were four letter "g's" in a row, it kept turning the page. She loved how silly that was, but I imagine that could get old if you're trying to read a bedtime story. Likewise, whenever she wanted to show me something, and touched the screen, it either got bigger or it turned the page, which is counter-intuitive to the way kids read books. I mean, think of the kids books your own children loved, they ended up with bent pages, finger smudges and just a general "well-loved" look. Now imagine that each finger of love does something you don't want it to do, like turn a page etc.
All of that said, I can see the plus side of it too. I mean, there are no little kids in our family who live close by. And we were at her grandma's house where there wouldn't typically be a lot of kids books. But with the ereader, you could quickly bring one up. If we had more time and it was already set up with my account, it would have been fun to find a few more books to download, but I would have been looking for cheap ones like the 99 cents or so. If I lived with a child, I think I'd be looking for anthologies of books, if there is such a thing.
What do I miss? Turning a real page, being able to go back a few pages by using the visual on the page, not the number of "swipes." And...this is going to sound weird, but I miss the cuddle factor. While my niece was plenty cuddle-able, the "book" was not. Another weird thing I miss, that is more specific to picture books - the variance in the size of the books.
So, will I ever buy an ereader for myself? Yes. What are my main reasons? I'm not sure. How's that for a review?
Are you considering an ereader? Have you tried one out? Do tell.
