Although I’m very comfortable with and enjoy using new technology and products, I’m not the kind of person who runs out every time a new product is released. I still don’t have an iPad (although the new one about to be released is very tempting). I don’t have a Droid or smartphone. I am a Mac user though and will be forever.
All this being said, I am a book lover and, if you can’t tell from a visit to Book Dads, I’m just a tad book-obsessed as well. When the Color Nook was released I just wasn’t able to resist getting one. However, I wasn’t just going to buy one for myself, but also for my daughter Tessa. Although it didn’t stop me from buying one, I admit I was a little bit worried about Tessa becoming mesmerized with the Nook, and not wanting to look at her picture books any more. In our particular case and I think for other kids as well, it was a needless worry. If anything, Tessa spends even more time now pouring through the books on her shelf, and has developed an even greater love of books. But I believe that doesn’t have anything to do with the Nook — it has to do with me and my wife continuing to make ourselves available to read to her aloud.
So what makes the Color Nook worth getting for toddlers?
First, what I’m not so crazy about:
* The selection of children’s picture books for the Color Nook isn’t great (yet). If you’re looking for a lot of your favorites (for example, we were looking for Mo Willems books), they’re not available yet on the Nook.
* I really like the Read to Me feature which allows a book to be read to the child. It gives me a little break from reading aloud, which is something I sometimes need because I read aloud quite often every day. However, not every book has that feature which, if it’s something you really want to have on your Nook books, can even further trim down your selection choices.
Neither of these are really huge deals to me. I’ve been able to find some good selections at good prices, but I have to spend a lot of time looking. I’m absolutely thrilled to see many Todd Parr books on the Nook and we’ve purchased a few because he is one of our very favorite children’s authors. Plus, his books are available with the Read to Me feature and it sounds like he’s the one reading the books!!
Here’s what I like about using the Color Nook with my daughter:
* The Nook’s portability makes it great for traveling. We used it on vacation and having it on the plane was awesome!
* I really think if you have a child who isn’t as interested in books and reading, the Nook might be a way to spark an interest in book
Either way, print book or Nook, it’s obvious by the pictures that Tessa is engaged and loving the gift of reading and books. What more could we ask for?
I would love to see a Nook. We received an iPad as a gift and have purchased many Dr.Seuss books. I still haven’t invested much money into the ebooks as I see the books currently being passed over by my kids because of the abundance of free learning games we have downloaded. Having a dedicated book reader would certainly differentiate itself as for reading books only.
Had I only known the Color Nook was coming so fast on the heels of the Nook.
We got ours for Christmas 2009, thinking it would be a way for my husband and I to read when we travel. Perfect for picking books you WANT to read as opposed to having to live with airport bookstore selections on a layover.
My 9YO loves it and actually has pulled some of the free content (original Wizard of Oz) to read. Now there are three of us vying for it. It’s hard to say “no” when she wants to read!
Yes, Tessa loves her books very much and I’m very thankful and thrilled by it!!
The Color Nook is great. I’d like an iPad at some point but I’m going to wait until Tessa gets a little older.
I didn’t mention it in the post but the Nook comes with Wi-Fi too so it’s pretty handy to have when we’re out and about as well. It’s definitely been worth it!
I’m the opposite: I have an iPad (which I love), but I’m very tempted by the Nook. It would be nice sometimes to hand the kids a device that could be used only for books. Plus then I wouldn’t have to share so much.