Is A Kindle Appropriate For Young Children? My Thoughts

Alexis has been asking for a Kindle ever since I got my Kindle Touch a few months ago. At first, I didn't feel that at 7 she was old enough to handle the responsibility of taking care of a Kindle. Last week Walmart had a great deal on the $79 Kindle, with the purchase you received a $30 Walmart gift card. That made it $50 and so we took the opportunity to buy one for Alexis.

I was concerned that we would have trouble finding age appropriate books for a young child. Despite my concerns, I am finding many free books available including picture books. Of course, there is always the classic literature available for free as well, such as Black Beauty, The Wizard of Oz,  Robinson Crusoe, etc. At present, we are reading aloud The Railway Children by Edeth Nesbit. It is my hopes that she will tackle some of the classics to read on her own.

There are many websites where you can find free Kindle books for kids. Here are two websites I use and I check often sometimes daily to get the best deals..
ereaderiq.com
http://kids.kindlenationdaily.com

Libraries are also beginning to carry ebooks in the Kindle format, this allows any patron with a library card to borrow ebooks. I have found several juvenile fiction books available including the Magic Treehouse series.

I have also was lucky enough to find this book on sale called My Sister The Vampire #1 Switched by Sienna Mercer. I have been eyeing this book for months since my daughter loves vampires. I bought the Kindle version for $1.99 that was 67% off the normal price. I felt like that was a steal! Amazon has sales regularly.

Alexis also enjoys playing games on her Kindle. Several games are available for free and some are very educational word games. Alexis's favorite games are Every Word, where the goal is to make as many words as you can from a set of letters given, and the classic Dots and Boxes.

My conclusion:  The Kindle was worth every penny spent.  I  download all of the books for Alexis and make sure all books are appropriate. I also check on her frequently to make sure the Kindle is put away properly. I won't allow her to take it to school or use it outdoors without supervision. The only drawback for a child of such a young age is the fact that the pages are all in black and white. Alexis commented, while reading a picture book, that she wished it had color. The Kindle Fire has color but I would not feel comfortable spending $200 on a Kindle Fire to have the color illustrations.

If I come across some exceptional children's book for the Kindle at a great price or for free, I will be posting.

Week 17 Excellence In Reading Challenge

I chose the book Frindle by Andrew Clements this week even though it is not on our challenge list. This is a 4th grade level book, and I wanted something a little more challenging for Alexis to read. Alexis is 7 years old and she is a very good reader. She is reading this to herself and I am re-reading it aloud before bed. This gives us a chance to discuss any words she may not understand. She says it is easy, so maybe it is not as challenging as I expected.

Frindle by Andrew Clements

Book Description from Amazon

Is Nick Allen a troublemaker?

He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.

Week 16 Excellence In Reading Challenge

We are wrapping up Mr. Poppers Penguins this weekend. As an added activity, we will rent the movie and compare it to the book. Other books read this weekend were Dinosaurs Before Dark Book 1 of The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osbourn. 

and...

The Monkey and the Crocodile: A Jataka Tale from India

Quarantine, Book One: The Loners Review

Ok...so I found this book through another blogger and you can read that review at Books and Beyond .

Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas isn't schedule for release until July 10 and will be the first book to be released in the trilogy. Two brothers, David and Will Thorpe, are not looking forward to the first day of school. David, the former varsity captain of the football team, is suffering from the deep depression over the death of his mother. While Will, a freshman, with epilepsy, is just finding new courage and self esteem.

An explosion takes place, within minutes of entering the school. David attempts to help a teacher to safety, suddenly the teacher is coughing up blood and dies. Confusion and chaos consumes the school, as the military quarantines everyone inside. The students of McKinley learn that they have been infected by a virus that makes them deadly to adults. Now the students must learn to survive on the routinely scheduled food drops provided. Students begin forming gangs in order to survive, but David and Will are loners and find themselves fighting for their lives.

My opinion of the book:
As an adult, I liked this book, yet I was disturbed by it at the same time. This book starts out with action and it ends with action. It was a very imaginative story and exciting from beginning to end. If you like gore, you will love this book and be left wanting more.

What disturbs me is this book  is categorized in the children's, teen and young adult genres rated for ages 14 & up. I really don't feel that this book is appropriate for young teens, because it is full of gruesome violence, profanities, sexual conduct, and alcoholic beverages. I would not recommend this book for young adults.

Week 15 Excellence In Reading Challenge

I had a mega migraine all day Friday, so I'm late with my weekly post. The good news is that I'm feeling much better today and Alexis and I finally finished The Secret Garden. She told me to rate it 5 stars because it was the best book ever!

Moving on...we are now reading Mr. Popper's Penguins, which is on our Excellence In Reading list.

Up to date, we are 7 chapters into the story. So far so good, I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would and Alexis loves penguins.

If you would like to share which stories you are reading, feel free to link up with us below.

Week 14 Excellence In Reading Challenge

The official verdict is in, Judy Moody Gets Famous was a big hit with Alexis. She read it cover to cover, within a couple hours, and was left wanting more. She will definitely be reading more of this series. Thanks Nikki for the suggestion.

We didn't get any books read from our list this week but we won't sweat it. The main goal is to read read read!

Books For Grown Ups: Timecachers by Glenn R. Petrucci

Timecachers by Glenn R. Petrucci

Science fiction is not my preferred genre, in fact, I usually avoid most books that are categorized as science fiction. The fact that this book also was in the historical fiction category is what captivated me. .

In Timecachers four engineers, Adam, Tom, Sal, and Alice, are hired to study a new GPS device called LANav. The  new GPS uses a new technology which uses the star positioning instead of satellite positions to navigate. The developer of this GPS, Dr. Odan, informs Adam, the team leader, that some anomalies exists with the device that he believes involves a desparity in two different time frequencies. Unsure of what is causing these anomalies, Dr. Odan asks for Adam to gather a team of engineers to follow a time beacon located in Northwestern Georgia.

The team, Adam, Tom, Sal, and Alice begin their testing in the hopes that this new technology will help perpetuate their careers. Not knowing what they will find, the team reaches the beacon and suddenly they are standing face to face with John Carter, a Cherokee Indian. The team is confused and begin to realize nothing in the area looks the same as it did before. The roads have disappeared, the park, from where they embarked, no longer exists. 

Soon the team discovers that they have traveled in time to May of 1838, during the Cherokee Indian Removal and what becomes known as the Trail of Tears. The team is faced with the obstacle of finding their way back to the present day whilst make the best of their situation. The Indian, John Carter, believes that since they are time travelers they may be able to offer wisdom of the future to help the Cherokee people. 

The group splits up, each living with a different Cherokee family, to help where they are needed. Although the wisdom and help does not change the outcome of the Indian Removal of 1838, each life is touched dramatically by the events that unfold.

Reading this book I felt such a connection with the characters that it left me longing for more time travel adventures with Adam, Tom, Sal, and Alice. 

I'll give this one 4 out of 5 stars. It is quite long at 592 pages and it is not what I would call a page turner but I did enjoy it and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to read it. 

Note: The Timecachers ebook is available for $2.99 at Amazon.