Epic! – Books for Kids Review

 

Do you have reluctant readers in your family?  My second grader simply cannot stand sitting down with a book and silently reading for 20 minutes every night like she is supposed to.  That is, until we discovered Epic! – Books for Kids in iTunes.  This app takes reading to the next level for kids by adding in a few simple reinforcing features that actually work to motivate kids to read!

Basically, Epic! is an eBook service for kids.  For a $9.99 monthly fee or $79.99 yearly fee, you have access to hundreds of book titles right at your fingertips.  The selection ranges from picture books for toddlers to more complex stories for 11 & 12 year olds.  There are several popular classic titles and books from many popular and well-known children’s authors.  In addition, more titles are added weekly to keep the selection fresh and interesting to kids.

The best feature of this app that really sets it apart from other eBook services I have reviewed is the customizable profile and reinforcing badges your child can earn by reading books.  I know it seems almost too good to be true, but this feature is what makes my daughter excited to read with this app.  Each child can create their own profile and personalize it with their own avatar.  They can design their profile screen with various color-schemes and designs.  Once their profile is created, they can start earning reading badges that appear on their profile like a trophy case celebrating their reading accomplishments.  They can earn badges for reading hours, the number of books they’ve read, reading different genres of books, and on and on.  My daughter absolutely loves earning the badges!  She has even challenged her siblings to see who can earn the most badges.  I love that she is excited about reading and looks forward to seeing what new titles there are each week.

I am not usually a fan of apps that require a monthly or annual subscription; however, I feel that for this app it is worth the money.  The selection and quality of titles alone is worth the money.  Once you add in the customizable profile and reading badges, I am 100% sold.  Whether your children love to read or you have a reluctant reader like me, this app would definitely be worth checking out.  If you are leery of committing to a subscription, they offer a free one month trial to see if you like it.  I was not disappointed and hopefully you won’t be either!