happypamama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I'm considering getting an e-reader for my DD next spring when she turns 11. These are my questions. -I want e-ink to be gentler on her eyes. I have a cheapie e-reader that is great for PDFs for knitting patterns, which is why I got it, but I would not want DD reading on it for hours on end. -Do any of them play a few games? -I do not have amazon prime and do not want to buy books. I have a couple of excellent library systems at my disposal, but I'm curious -- for those who use the library e-books, have you found there to be a decent selection of tween/teen/juvenile fiction? If I were to spring for amazon prime, would I then have a lot of options available for her? -What about the free library in Philadelphia? I have a card for there; do they have e-books? -I want it to be able to do epub files as well, maybe even pdf. -What about color? Does the cheaper Kindle have color, in addition to the e-ink? (I'm thinking not, but I couldn't tell.) -Do any of them do mp3s, so DD could listen to audio books (she has both speakers for an mp3 player and earbuds)? Our libraries have lots of those, and she likes audio books more than reading. I thought about getting her a Sansa mp3 player, since she likes mine a lot, but if I could spend a little more and get an e-reader to encourage her to read, that would be even better. -I don't need 3G; Wifi is fine (and preferable, even). It would even be fine to hook it up to the computer to download stuff to it (which is what I do with my e-reader). I have an E-matic e-reader, and if it wasn't for the screen, I'd just get one of those for DD. I'm sure I'm asking for the moon and will need to buy one of the more expensive Kindles or Nooks or whatever, right? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I'm considering getting an e-reader for my DD next spring when she turns 11. These are my questions. -I want e-ink to be gentler on her eyes. I have a cheapie e-reader that is great for PDFs for knitting patterns, which is why I got it, but I would not want DD reading on it for hours on end. -Do any of them play a few games? My Kindle Keyboard can play games. Nothing terribly animated (it is an e-ink machine) or in color, but I play card games, monopoly etc on there sometimes. -I do not have amazon prime and do not want to buy books. I have a couple of excellent library systems at my disposal, but I'm curious -- for those who use the library e-books, have you found there to be a decent selection of tween/teen/juvenile fiction? If I were to spring for amazon prime, would I then have a lot of options available for her? -What about the free library in Philadelphia? I have a card for there; do they have e-books? -I want it to be able to do epub files as well, maybe even pdf. Don't know about these -What about color? Does the cheaper Kindle have color, in addition to the e-ink? (I'm thinking not, but I couldn't tell.) No. You can get a backlit color screen or an e-ink screen in B&W. I don't believe there are any machines out there with both. -Do any of them do mp3s, so DD could listen to audio books (she has both speakers for an mp3 player and earbuds)? Our libraries have lots of those, and she likes audio books more than reading. I thought about getting her a Sansa mp3 player, since she likes mine a lot, but if I could spend a little more and get an e-reader to encourage her to read, that would be even better. My kindle does audiobooks. It's very nice! I think the cheapest kindle does not (or at least it didn't a year ago when I got mine). But the next one up does. -I don't need 3G; Wifi is fine (and preferable, even). It would even be fine to hook it up to the computer to download stuff to it (which is what I do with my e-reader). I have an E-matic e-reader, and if it wasn't for the screen, I'd just get one of those for DD. I'm sure I'm asking for the moon and will need to buy one of the more expensive Kindles or Nooks or whatever, right? :) Not sure what you're asking here. :) The basic kindle touch or whatnot should be fine if you're not set on color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 The Nook Color and Kindle Fire are not e-ink. My 11 yr old has a Kindle Touch. It's e-ink, can play audio books, but has no games. I'm not sure any of the e-ink only devices have games. We also have the regular Kindle (the non-touch screen) but it cannot play audio books. Getting library books on the Kindle is easy. I rarely buy e-books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 -I do not have amazon prime and do not want to buy books. I have a couple of excellent library systems at my disposal, but I'm curious -- for those who use the library e-books, have you found there to be a decent selection of tween/teen/juvenile fiction? If I were to spring for amazon prime, would I then have a lot of options available for her? You don't need Prime to use a Kindle. You can get a free e-book through the Prime lending, but otherwise you buy the books just like those without Amazon Prime (as far as I know anyway). I have a basic Kindle and dd has my old Nook. They are both e-ink and both seem to have the same free classic books available. Library lending seems about the same as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 We have a reasonably good selection of digital books available for kids/tweens/teens in my library system. What's available will vary from system to system, so I'd recommend checking with your own system. Ours has most digital library books available for both Kindle and epub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudswinger Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I got a Kobo for my 8yo daughter. It's e-ink, has wi-fi, but I mainly download books from the library to my computer to transfer to it. It was on clearance at Target for $20, and she adores it. Our library has a decent selection, she's working through all the Beverly Cleary books right now, but there seems to be plenty more to read through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Check to see what format your library(ies) uses for ebook lending. Ours uses both Kindle and ePub. I can read both as I have a Kindle Keyboard and an IPad; my girls can only check out Kindle books (one has a touchscreen and the other the most basic model) unless they want to sit in front of a computer to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emcap Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Just wanted to address the game factor, I have the cheap kindle and my sons each have a kindle touch, they can all play a couple games. I think I bought one for $.99, others were free. They are word searches, lingo(similar to a crossword puzzle I think), mazes, jokes, riddles that sort of thing. I like it because they love playing and it works their brains a bit more than angry birds ;) . If you enjoy audio books I would try for something with that capability. My boys really enjoy being able to choose and listen to them anytime since they don't have their own MP3 players. We can check out audio books from the library. I have sent PDFs to my moms kindle, but have not personally used them on the kindle, so I know it can be done but that's about it. One other thing, we haven't paid for books. There are so many free ones we have just been using those and the library. We all love our kindles. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 If you want epub, you would have to go with a Nook. But you can use a free program called Calibre to convert epub to mobi if you get a Kindle. I've had both, the original Nook and the Kindle 3 with keyboard, I vastly prefer the Kindle. It can do mp3s and the speakers are pretty good. There are some games and apps for it though they are not in color. pdf rendering, in my experience, isn't great on either the Nook or the Kindle so I convert those in Calibre as well, not all come out well, it depends on the original format of the pdf. Both are easy to load books from the computer, again, I use Calibre to organize and transfer mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Both of our children have a Kindle Fire. My 15-year-old daughter reads books on her KF all the time (you can change the background so it isn't bright white, etc.). She only gets free Amazon Prime books or books from the library. Lately, she has enjoyed watching Dr. Who episodes on her KF. My 12-year-old son will read an occassional book on his KF, but he mostly loves the games and watching free Amazon movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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