Designing an eBook Reader for Children
After discovering the wonderful collection of children’s illustrated ebooks over at sharing-books.com I started to think about how I could read these books to my children. Unfortunately I don’t think a suitable reader currently exists for children’s illustrated books. Today’s ebook reader screens are too small. This is especially true of the iPhone/iPod touch but also of dedicated readers such as the Kindle or Sony Reader. The latter two also have the disadvantage of being black and white. Laptop screens come closest but they are far too bulky. I want a device I can comfortably hold over my head while lying down in bed. The closest device I can think of is a tablet PC but these are too expensive and too heavy.
Looking at today’s crop of ebook readers, it would be easy to conclude that children’s books will never make the transition to ebook format. I don’t believe this is the case. The problem is that today’s devices are designed to replace the paperback. Their main requirements are portability and a comfortable reading experience for sustained periods of time.
An ebook reader for a children’s illustrated book has a completely different set of requirements. What’s needed is a dedicated illustrated ebook reader. Here are the requirements of such a device.
- Large colour display, preferably with a touchscreen. I would see A4 as being the minimum size, but ideally something a little larger.
- Lightweight. I’d be prepared to trade off some battery life for a lighter device. I imagine this device would spend most of its time in the home, near a ready power source.
- Spill resistant with an easy wipe down surface.
- Simple controls for easy page navigation. As children’s books don’t tend to have many pages, sophisticated navigation and bookmarking functionality is not required. Instead simple Next/Prev page buttons would suffice.
- Reasonably priced – at least comparable to other ebook readers.
- Linked to a library or subscription based model. It’s too expensive to buy every book you read to your children.
What advantages would an illustrated ebook reader provide over print?
- Instant download of new books. No more running out of reading material between library visits.
- As long as your ebook reader is reasonably rugged, your books will always remain in pristine condition – no more ripped pages, stains and missing flaps.
- Less bedroom clutter and no more tedious putting of books away and tidying the bookshelf.
- No more lost book searches on library day.
- Better interactivity. Illustrated children’s books have been crying out for increased interactivity. Just look at all the lift the flap books available. A touchscreen ebook reader would provide the ultimate in interactivity. Touch the bush to see what’s behind. Touch the main character to see him dance. Touch an instrument to hear it play. Touch a door to see what’s behind.
- Non-linear stories. Remember the old twist-a-plot stories. Imagine being able to let your child decide where the main character goes next, simply by tapping on the screen.
What dangers would an ebook reader introduce to early childhood reading?
- The top on my list would be ebooks that come with built-in narration. It’s bound to happen. Imagine having the author able to read their story to your child. Now you don’t even have to sit down with your child and read to them. That’s the problem. Regularly reading aloud to your child is probably one of the most satisfying and beneficial activities you can do. However, given the choice of being able to outsource this, many tired and busy parents will.
- Turning every book into a video game. The most important part of a book is the story. In a children’s book this is told using both words and illustrations, both being equally important. As ebooks offer endless possibilities for interaction there is the temptation to turn every book into a game. While some interaction can be great, the story needs to remain central.
The technology exists today to create an effective illustrated ebook reader. It will be interesting to see when this happens and who is the first to take the lead.
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18 Responses so far
Mike Zheng
February 23rd, 2009
5:25 pm
Hi,
I like your idea. I have been thinking about this product for a few months. I am planning to make a prototype first. If you have any idea to get the technology part, please share. We can work on this together if you want.
Thanks,
Mike
Mark Gladding
February 25th, 2009
8:10 pm
Hi Mike,
Sounds like a great idea. I look forward to discussing this with you further. Send me an email to let me know where you’re at with this.
Jeanette McLeod
February 25th, 2009
9:55 pm
Hi Mike/Mark
if you guys get the reading device, we have the content. Interactive eBooks for children with animated illustrations, audio with highlighting words as they are read, click on a word capability.
2 free eBooks avaialable at wizz-e.com to check out!
Roll on a robust colour e-reader. Any support I can give please ask
Jeanette
James
April 29th, 2009
3:49 am
Mark/Mike,
I’m very interested in this type of products. I have a background in mobile/embedded devices. If you need resources with technology, maybe I can help.
Meg
July 31st, 2009
7:29 am
Hi
Sounds like an awesome device when you have one available I’d definitely be interested in trying it out. My niece would just love it she has heeeeaaps of books fills up a whole side of a room! Imagine how many more books she can have around if she has something like this.
Abby
October 1st, 2009
6:59 pm
Sounds interesting am working on a PhD at UCL on ebooks & also have a 2 year old daughter who loves books & computers.
Larry
October 22nd, 2009
2:40 am
We have a software e-reader for kids – free to download – and a growing library of great kids books like Dr. Seuss, Biscuit, Corduroy, Not a Box and many more.
Best of all – our next version (currently in beta) will let kids, Moms & teachers share their e-books and games with their friends – either to gift them or to lend them.
Larry
October 22nd, 2009
2:42 am
You can check out the current release at http://www.kidthing.com.
Larry
October 22nd, 2009
2:42 am
And if you want to be a part of our beta test group – send us an email to bob@kidthing.com
carla evans
October 24th, 2009
9:38 pm
I just came across your site. I have a very bright 5 1/2 year old boy (C),who has moderate level of cerebral palsy & his 3 1/2 yr old sister(M) (without disabilities) who might be really good product testers for you.
I came across the site because I was looking for an alternate to the leap frog readers for the simple reason that my kids have practically every book designed for the system. I’m looking for a way to have the book in a true reader like for adults or a pen that is more child oriented than some designed in specialty catalogs for older kids that has scattered features not all appropriate. The Leap Frog competing products too are narrow in scope & come with a variety of limitations.
All 3 of my children (I also have a 19 month old son-A) are avid book monsters. We have a pretty serious collection of kids books in traditional format.
My 5 1/2 yr old son, C, is learning to read now. My daughter is very good at memorizing the stories even after 1 read & being able to sit & flip thru the book herself. My son can flip thru himself, but can’t read aloud because there is a muscle in his jar that is week that makes it very hard for him to get out accurate verbalizations. More excitement comes out than true typical English. He uses some American Sign Language, a communication board, A communication device (a preprogrammed choice of 8 for choosing what he wants to say), simple hand choices (a tap on the adult hand for whatever choice -i.e. hand up vanilla, hand down a different flavor), etc.
C has cortical vision blindness, which means that sometimes the message from the eyes to the brain doesn’t always make it there intact. He isn’t blind, the diagnosis sounds more dramatic than it has become in C’s case. It just means that sometimes books with lots of visual clutter are hard for him so larger fonts (about typical young kid book size or a bit larger & non-water color illustrations are best).
C is completely cognitively intact-a bright guy. He is highly motivated in all things. Learning to walk now with a slight hand hold-typically walking with a walker. C has some tight muscle tone in his hands that can make using those leap frog type pens a little challenging. Anything can be adapted but it makes it all more cumbersome.
The person who wrote on the site that a big screen with color & touch features with easier portability was writing my Santa wish list. C can use his IPOD video classic (we bought it before the touch came out & we’ll have to wait a bit before thinking about upgrading). Even with some dexterity issues C can use the wheel reasonably accurately on the system. He uses a mouse adaption to a bigger push switch called a littleMack on the computer or a touch screen to read stories on the desktop or laptop.
But all that being said he wants independence. He wants to be able to read it himself. I need a device that offers the word by word feature, highlighting the word as it says it as well as the ability to read the complete paragragh/page.
M has taken the cue from her big brother, she loves books.
I’m hoping you can help. Thanks for your time.
Here’s my contact info. carlakevans@yahoo.com
Mark Gladding
October 28th, 2009
9:47 pm
Hello Carla,
It sounds like your son is a bright, enthusiastic kid, albeit with a few challenges. I believe the technology exists to develop an ebook reader that would meet his needs as well as other kids too. It’s just a matter of someone putting all the pieces together.
One step in the right direction is Microsoft’s touch interface for Windows 7. This is probably going to take a while to appear on everyone’s desktop PC but it does mean that 3rd party manufacturers can use it on portable devices, such as ebook readers. Given the huge array of software available for Windows and the large number of developers experienced in the platform, we’re likely to see a proliferation of great devices appearing.
Take a look at the previous commenter’s website http://www.kidthing.com.
It’s beautiful! If their software could be run on a robust, portable touch screen device, then you’d have your kids ebook reader.
All the best,
Mark.
Bernard
November 18th, 2009
1:36 pm
A kid-friendly ebook reader would be a great alternative to the car trip gameboy/dvd player.
Not having to lug a bunch of books whilst traveling (esp air travel) would be great.
Rebecca
September 9th, 2010
7:00 am
Hi,
I am currently designing a children’s Ebook reader for my Graphics A level and I want to thank you for this article. I believe that a Children’s Ebook reader is something that would be useful to society and would be a great commercial product. The project I am doing will be running until March so if anyone wants to discuss this with me that would be great.
Thanks,
Rebecca.
Tasha
September 18th, 2010
4:32 am
Hi, I’m a mom of 8 children and I’ve been searching for some kind of portable e-reader for children books. We’ve tried the Leap Frog products, but I really don’t like those. How long do you think it will be for someone make them? I also home school the 4 youngest children and I have to do a lot of reading a loud. An e reader would be a great help while I’m working one on one with another child.
Gabrielle
June 13th, 2011
2:30 am
Hi – I found this website, because I am looking for an e-reader for my 3 year old. Ideally you would buy the e-reader, and then can download numerous books from the internet (possibly hundreds – not sure if I am expecting too much). But I would pay a nominal fee per ebook. This way, my daughter could grow with the books (ie. start out with 3 year old books, but be able to grow int 4, 5, 6 etc). We have a lot of books, and are trying to go more green – but do not want to stunt her reading interest.
I actually don’t want it full of a lot of pictures, I would love it if the words pop out as they are read. Big enough for kids to start making the association.
Does this exist?
Aspen
June 25th, 2011
8:34 am
You really saved my skin with this inforamtion. Thanks!
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June 25th, 2011
9:28 pm
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brad caylor
August 20th, 2011
9:41 am
To GABRIELLE. I have published a story on kindle titled THE ADVENTURES OF DUC. This story follows a young sea lion about the size of a three year old child from his injuries in the Noyo river at Fort bragg Ca. to the mammal center and then his long journey back up the calif. coast back to his home. This story is based on actual events that I witnessed in May of 2009. Itis about 3500 words with only 15 illustrations. The illustrations are to show the reader the situation only. The main character is a very lovable guy and theending is a happy event. It has been read by kids 3 to 90 years old and they all loved Duc. This is not a googoo story. Take a look. If you like the story please leave a review. Thank you.
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