The percent of children who are reading ebooks has almost doubled since 2010 and the number of children reading on iPads has grown 700 percent in the past two years, making book apps a relevant means of getting kids to read, according to Carisa Kluver, founder of Digital Storytime, a review site for children’s storybook apps. Kluver has partnered with Digital Kid’s Author to release a two-minute video short on how book apps work and how to download them on the iPad. The video can be found on the Digital Kid’s Author website.
Kluver, who writes The Digital Media Diet blog, said Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report, released in January, noted that kids ages 6-17 who are reading ebooks has grown from 25 percent in 2010 to 46 percent in 2012. Children reading on iPads grew from 3 percent to 21 percent.
“The percent of kids reading ebooks – digital books and book apps – has nearly doubled in a very short time,” Kluver said. “This means book apps are relevant, especially as tablets like the iPad become more of a common household item.”
Because of the way iTunes is organized, many parents and teachers may not understand that book apps are found in the App Store, under the Books category.
“The video tutorial explains how book apps have interactive features like animation, sound and story choices that engage kids in reading,” Kluver said. “It also demonstrates how to find book apps and download them in iTunes.”
The Scholastic study also noted that half of children ages 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to ebooks – a 50 percent increase since 2010.
“Clearly there is an opportunity for parents to discover a whole new world of reading in book apps,” said Karen Robertson, a mom of two, children’s author and founder of Digital Kid’s Author, a resource site for book app creators. “Book apps also have been recognized for their appeal to reluctant readers, because children interacting with a story tend to read more.”
Robertson created the award-winning Treasure Kai book app series when her dyslexic son picked up an iPad for the first time and chose storybook apps over games. Her book apps are recognized for their appeal to reluctant readers. The Scholastic study found that one in four boys – the most common reluctant reader – who has read an ebook says he is now reading more books for fun.
“This means as access to technology increases, the numbers of kids reading digitally will skyrocket,” Kluver said. “We want our children to love to read. Using book apps as to tool to introduce and engage them in reading offers unlimited opportunities to merge literacy and technology.”
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Digital Storytime has more than 600 reviews of iPad book apps and is a valued resource for parents, teachers and librarians shopping for quality educational apps. Founder Carisa Kluver also writes “The Digital Media Diet” blog about digital publishing, kid lit and parenting in the digital age. Copyright (C) 2013 Digital Storytime. All Rights Reserved.
The post Digital Storytime: Study Shows Book Apps Relevant To Get Kids Reading appeared first on Apps Discovery Center @ TheGadgetClub.