kindle - specific questions

[jrabbit]

We are wanting to get a Kindle for our (almost) 11 year old (everyone, but mainly Annie). Long story, but we plan to be traveling, and won't have the same library access we currently have, so I was thinking that e-books might be the answer!

I have looked on amazon & cyberread.com - and books for her seem to be $4 and up ... ridiculous, in my opinion, for someone who reads 15 books a week.

So, I'm looking now, trying to find out what the Houston Library has, and I'm becoming extremely frustrated trying to find books that would be in her age-range. The search engine is proving to be extremely un-friendly.

Am I missing something? HELP!

--janis

[K-Mom3]

There are millions of free kindle books. I don't buy any books for my kindle; I only do free things.

Here's a good list of sites.
http://ireaderreview.com/2008/01/19/...amazon-kindle/

Also my my local library subscribes to an online system where I can check out ebooks, also for free.

[jrabbit]

thanks for that link. I only do free things, as well - hence, the library. But I cannot seem to figure out my library's ebook search, *or* (probably more likely) - they don't have much for kids.

My question is mainly: is she going to be frustrated with her choices? Will she REALLY be able to find enough books appropriate for her age to keep her reading passion alive and happy?

[greenmama]

Mostly just subbing, but this might be the solution for my voracious reader who checks out multiple books a week from the library and we still buy more books than we have shelf space for. Kindle wouldn't take up the space.

As I was looking into this, I discovered that amazon sells many kindle books for kids, so you shouldn't have difficulties if you are willing to buy them, but the selection of free books might be more limited, as they will only be those things in the public domain. There are certainly good younger books in the public domain, but if she is looking for the latest Rick Riordan book you are going to have to pay.

[weliveintheforest]

maybe you could check with your local tribe? another houston mama might know about your library specifically.

[K-Mom3]

The selection is definitely limited. If it is mainly for vacation, I bet you could keep her busy with classics for a while.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Little Women
Treasure Island
Gulliver's Travels
Sherlock Holmes
Even Charles Dickens and Jane Austen could be appropriate for an 11 yr old who is an advanced reader.
The "Anne" books as well as other Montgomery books

All of these are free kindle books from Amazon.

Another option is to search kindle childrens books by age 9-12 and then sort the results by price. There aren't many free but quite a few under a dollar

But you're right, she won't have anything even close to the selection at the library.

[jrabbit]

thanks for the tips.  I'll do that ... I think we've pretty much decided that we're going to get the Kindle (or Nook) for her birthday, which is coming up.  We'll eventually get an Ipad, too, but for now, we're just going to explore.

but no, I'm NOT paying more than $1 for a book.  As much value as I place on books and such, I have never been a fan of buying lots of kids' books, especially the chapter books and learning-to-read type.  They just go through those books so voraciously!  

I'm sure that when we get to a point where library is impossible, we'll be doing a lot more swapping and halfprice book shopping/selling.

--janis

[wemoon]

My daughter just asked for a kindle/nook for xmas... I thought that if you bought your nook from Barnes and Noble there was so many free books you could get. I obviously do not know the specifics, but it might be worth it to poke around at what different stores offer when you purchase the reader.

[zh97]

Wow!  I could have written your post!  I, too, have an 11 year old who reads at least 10 library books a week and will lose this awesome resource when we start our open ended around the world tour in a few months.  She doesn't have much knowledge about e-readers, but I looked into getting her one anyways, for this very reason.  The whole library book thing has proved to be fruitless for me too.  No libraries that I have access to have any children's books and the ones that do seem to have many books unavailable (maybe already signed out by other patrons?)  In my internet search, I have found a few, perhaps, shoddy options where you can get many, many free books, including Harry Potter (which is what causes me to suggest that it is less than legit).  I also know that you can download PDFs for free and I have been able to find some interesting articles for her- interesting as a different genre from fiction novels.  

I did end up getting her a kindle for her birthday (this Friday- I'll tell you how it goes ;) ) Both my parents, myself and another friend are buying her gift cards to use towards buying books and I am sure a few $5.99 books will be bought.  I cringe a little.  I did buy the 3G version that you might want to consider too for traveling.  If you haven't seen it yet, it offers free 3G wireless connection in a whole host of countries.  The browser is very slow and not something one would want to use too much, but it does have things like wikipedia that my daughter likes to go to, and it can offer an option if you want to write a quick email while on the road.

Anyways, I hope that as the technology progresses, the prices will come down. (they didn't even really have any sort of "Black Friday" deal on books in the Kindle Store, urg)  For now, I've added books as an expense line on our travel budget.  

[jrabbit]

Well, I just realized I need to update our status on this!

We bought her a Nook for her birthday, and she will be getting gift cards for Christmas.  There has been a fair amount of whining about not having "her" favorite books available, but we're slowly delving into the world of "older" books that are available for free.  She read and LOVED Dr. Dolittle - these are books she wouldn't otherwise be captivated by on the shelves of our local library, but she's desperate to read, so she tried it!  

We are mainly relying on the Gutenberg project (I think that's what it's called) and checking Barnes & Noble's free selections frequently.  They seem to add books often.  I still haven't found a solution for the library, though.

Now, I just need to buy her a cover!

--janis

p.s. when we actually start our RV trip, we will be buying an Ipad and will probably look at upgrading the Nook then - but for now, we're just testing the waters.

[zebra15]

Thanks!  I think, after much thinking and research we may get a 'nook'.  A variety of reasons but I think The NOOK is a better platform plus nook supports library books, kindle does not (my understanding)

[mamabeca]

I know that some ereaders do allow library coverage, kindle isn't one of them.  I believe Sony is the one for sure that does, but maybe there are other - off brand - versions?

[Arduinna]

I personally would be miserable at only being allowed to read free books.

[ikesmom]

I got a Nook for Christmas and let my boys choose books to read too. We are looking for as much free stuff as possible , but I think it is hard to just do the free ones..esp when you can browse so many wonderful summaries of other books. Is it possible to give her at least $10 a month to choose a book or magazine?

[BethSLP]

I know this is an old thread, but just wanted to add that Kindle will work with library check out later this year.  The CEO of amazon just announced it last month.  I know this is a major reason a lot of people have chosen the Nook, and now it will be on an even par with library check out.

XOX
B

[chaimom]

If anyone's still on the fence about the Kindle, my advice is to get it for a voracious reader.  One of my boys can go through a 500 page book in a week, so it's quite difficult to keep him in books.  We were constantly ordering from Amazon or going to the book store or library, but inevitably there would be nights when he'd finish a book and still want something to read.  Now that we have the kindle, it's not a problem.  He does a few free books, but somehow, he knows the latest kid-literature and always knows what he wants to read next, so we'll get it for him.  I don't think it's ridiculous to spend $5.99 on a Kindle book.  The author deserves to be paid, and that's a lot better than the $8.99+ I'd have to pay for a paperback.

[jdsf]

I just wanted to comment that a kindle or a nook is amazing for any kid who reads more books in a week than they can carry out of the library... also, less chances of losing something ;) My 13 y.o. got one for christmas, and I think we're saving at least a couple of hundred dollars a year not paying library fines or buying the books in a series that are perpetually checked out of the library. So, I guess it pays for itself :)