Some
studies say youngsters are reaching for more e-books while others say kids
still prefer print books. Scholastic’s fifth edition of the Kids and Family Reading Report shows both.
Digital
reading is indeed on the rise with children of all ages, the study found. In
2010, just 25% of kids had read an e-book. That jumped to 61% in 2016. However,
of those who had read an e-book, 77% conceded most of the books they read are
still on paper.
Even more,
it appears kids don’t expect print books to go away any time soon as 65% agreed
they will “always want to read books in print even though there are
e-books available,” according to the report.
Nevertheless,
some companies think device-happy youngsters are ripe for digital reading
material. Amazon just released a new mobile app, dubbed Rapids, that enables
kids to read age-appropriate short stories on their mobile devices, including
an option to read the dialogue as text messages between characters.
Intended
for children aged 7-12, Rapids includes an audio component so they can read
along while listening to the story. Rapids’ stories are available as a paid
monthly subscription (not included with Prime membership).
