Kindle Book Club for Kids

School has started and so has the Reading List that our kids are supposed to get through before the end of the school year. When discussing the list with my stepsons, they were none too excited. I know that is absolutely shocking since reading doesn't really hold a candle to their current sporting activities or Wii playing. However, I hoped that their earlier interest in the Kindle would be rekindled (see Share Your Kindle With Your Kids) if I found a way to make it cool for them to read. As I looked through the list and compared it to the list of available books on the Kindle, I was pleasently surprised to find some Kindle versions.

I thought I would start out with a classic for my initial experiment, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Bramblewood Press Classics). We went through the anticipated argument that they had already seen the movie, knew how the story went, blah blah blah, but reading the book, I told them, is very different. Both of them are currently in Jr. High School, so the book selection would count for both of them if they both read it. While they were somewhat hesitant at first, they agreed if I would purchase the Kindle version for them.

I am happy to report that one stepson has already finished the book and the other is about halfway through, and we are only 3 weeks into the new school year. It must be something about the fact that its electronic, kind of looks like a video game console and not the ole standard book that attracts them to it.

I shared my early success with a Kindle loving friend of mine who has some grade school aged children. She and her husband said, "Why not try it with our kids?" They have peaked their kids interest as well and are having similar early success. We joked about starting a Kindle Book Club for Kids, which may not really be a bad idea if it will continue to peak their interest and keep them reading.

So far so good. Fingers are crossed that our success continues. With new books being added everyday to the Kindle Store and the fact that textbooks are making their debut on the Kindle, who knows what the future holds for our children.