So you've procrastinated buying a gift for your nephew or young cousin or friend's kid. You need something that you can buy now and give by Monday, and you want your gift to stand out and be meaningful. One product niche you may not have heard about is digital read-aloud picture book libraries.Being a strong reader who enjoys reading is one of the most life-altering qualities a young person can have. Through literature, you can find characters who have been through what you are going through and can help you through a tough period. Through nonfiction, you can learn about the world and the opportunities it offers, discover the path that gives you the most joy, and become an expert.What stops kids from becoming voracious readers? The process of learning to read can be extremely frustrating, especially in school where kids are often at very different levels and can feel frustrated or embarrassed if their classmates appear to be ahead of them. This can cause them to not ask questions and to stagnate and can create a bad first impression of reading. How many people did you know in HS who were perfectly proficient readers but who'd never choose to read on their own? That attitude 9 times out of 10 is a result of negative experiences while they were learning to read. Many will carry this feeling about reading with them like an anchor their entire lives.So how do you overcome this pitfall? Tablets are awesome for this because they allow kids to pick up basic skills on their own. Several apps package a library of children's books with tools that allow a young person to experience the power of reading before they are fully effective readers, to pick up basic literacy skills while they go along and to increase the difficulty level as their skills improve. Critically, they can do this independently, choosing to read the books that interest them so they take ownership over the experience.So what does this cost and from which companies can you buy a product like this? I have three recommendations:One More Story (tour video)One More Story offers a smaller library than its competitors (85 books), but each book is set to original music composed by the former music director of Sesame Street. The music and sound effects of the books do a ton of work to immerse pre-readers. The app also individually highlights words when kids listen to books so they draw a connection between the spoken and written word. I don't think any other app does this, and it's meant to parallel the process of pointing at words as you read aloud to a kid, something any kindergarten or pre-k teacher will do because it's proven to make a huge difference.Price: $34.99/year with promocode HOLIDAYEpicWhereas One More Story seems like it was built from an educator's perspective, Epic is more of a Silicon Valley type of app. It targets a broader age range (3-12 vs. 3-7) and has a much larger library with a slicker user interface and allows for up to 4 individual child profiles so if you have multiple kids in their age range, there's extra value. What you gain in flexibility though you lose to some extent in quality. Both libraries include great books, but Epic's selection of read-alouds is of a similar size to One More Story's and the production quality, while good, isn't nearly as good as One More Story's.Price: $79.99/year with holiday sale, no code necessaryLevar Burton's SkybraryThe unique selling point for Skybrary is that it curates a library based on a child's interests. When children first enter Skybrary, they are asked their age and their interests, and Skybrary will narrow the books it features for the child based on those interests and presumed reading level. Skybrary also features many videos featuring Levar Burton that are similar to the videos from his days as host of Reading Rainbow.Price: $39.99/yearYou might wonder why I wrote this. I'm a longtime English teacher, and I feel even in the ocean of educational products available these days, this concept is a winner, and I wish it would catch on in a bigger way because I truly believe it can have a big impact on the reading level and interest in reading of young people and dramatically improve their lives. via /r/Gifts https://www.reddit.com/r/Gifts/comments/7l5t23/an_influential_digital_read_easy_and_fast_type_of/?utm_source=ifttt
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