To buy my kids a kindle?

[BusyDog]

I have 4 children, the ones who can read are 6, 11 and 12. Book storage in our (fairly small) house is a real issue. I’m considering getting the older 3 kindles. I feel like I’m being a snob but I prefer real books, but really already books are taking over and it’s difficult as limited storage space and none they want to get rid of.
Yes, I know there’s the library but we can’t get there often… and they like to read a lot. Older 2 especially are keen for more books but storing them is a nightmare.
Is it worth getting Amazon kids +, kindle unlimited? Are there lots of popular authors on there, Enid Blyton, Rick Riordan etc? How do you find it works out cost wise?

Also, I assume books/ membership can be shared across kindles?

YABU = kindles suck. Real books all the way.
YANBU = buy kindle

I read far more on a kindle than I would with a real book. My vision isn’t great so it’s superb for that. I also have kindle Unlimited and I get my moneys worth. I read about 3 books a week easily. Get them one

I can't comment on kindle subscriptions as I have never gone in for them, but I also have a Kindle primarily for storage reasons. Mine is about 10 years old. It won't last that long if it's treated badly. You can also set up an Amazon family account so you only have to buy books once.

The only other thing to consider is if a Kobo or similar would be a better option. My local library has an app called Libby which is an eBook borrowing app and I believe you can use that app with Kobo but not with Kindle.

My grandparents bought me my kindle so then I was in the ecosystem and it's not been a priority to work out if it's possible to move, but I wish I had known about kobo in the beginning.

Definitely kobo with libby for kids! It will save you a fortune.

Mine adore their kindles and have had them since they were 11. Really helpful when we moved overseas and could continue to easily buy books in both the languages they speak.

Ds1 was always a keen reader. Ds2 wasn't but became one with a kindle

Kindle all the way. If you set up unlimited (not sure if there's a kids version or about parental control) they can borrow loads of books, explore authors and styles, stop, start, read 2 or 3 at a time like i was from 8 onwards and there are not hundreds of books everywhere being damaged or lost

You should be able to download the library apps to any device so no need to buy anything else.

Your local library wil advise which app they use. It will save money.

I read alot (love my physical books) but use Borrow Box for audio books.

I concur with this. Why keep paying for books when you can download them from your Library?

Your school library might have borrow box or something similar.

Get the Kindle! Also, don't forget it isn't an LED screen so its not as harsh on eyes)

Do they have tablets already? Just you could get the Borrowbox for free on one and borrow library books online that way.

You should be able to download the library apps to any device so no need to buy anything else.

Whilst this is true, it's more comfortable to use an ereader for reading because it has an e-ink screen which is closer to reading paper. Plus you can read outdoors.

Our library uses borrow box. I couldn’t see quite a few of the books my older two especially like on our libraries borrow box (does it differ between libraries?), such as Disney twisted tales. How would I buy other books on a kobo? Is there a subscription service?

No, they don’t have tablets. I’d prefer they read off e-ink which is more like paper rather than reading also being screen time which would be case on tablet, there’s other reasons I don’t want to buy tablets anyway.

It seems there’s kindle unlimited and kindle kids plus. The kids plus also comes with stuff for their tablet range which wouldn’t be applicable. I don’t know if they have the same books on both options?

The kids plus isn’t great, unlimited is much better. There were c10-15 books my kids read of the plus but after that they want other options.
There was no Enid blyton but there was David Walliams, Percy Jackson series, geek girl and scarlet and ivy books. Possibly Harry Potter but we had those already.

Kibo doesn't support borrowbox if that's what your library uses instead of libby.

But ereaders are great.

My children have the kindles but found the kids Amazon subscription is rubbish. I wish I have got them a kobo as the deals are often the same and the added feature of the overdrive (Libby) app would save them so much money. The are other library’s you can join online to get more access to ebooks on Libby.

I had a kindle for a while, nowadays I prefer audiobooks as I like listening to the stories whilst I'm playing a game on my phone, but I think you'll have a greater range of books available on kindle. Plus if you do buy phones or tablets in the future, they can read the same books on other devices.

You can use Kobo to read from Borrowbox, you just need to connect via a laptop to download.

Kibo doesn't support borrowbox if that's what your library uses instead of libby.

I have a Kobo and use it mostly for borrowing library books through Borrowbox. You do have to download the books to a PC then transfer them to the Kobo, but it works perfectly well.

How would I buy other books on a kobo? Is there a subscription service?

Kobo has its own bookshop that you can buy from, but you can buy any book anywhere that's in epub format.

Kobo does have a subscription service but I've never used it so cant advise there.

I know you wouldn’t want them on “screens” and it’s not applicable but kindle kids have loads of educational games and tools which really helped my youngest with his maths etc and interactive books. I’d buy all 4 of them one to be fair. Just let the younger one play number jacks or similar. Also, not sure if Amazon still does this, but if the kindle breaks (kids one) they replace them for free. And most of them come with rubber cases so they bounce if dropped.

It really depends on what you want them to read- things like Enid blyton and stuff you’d get in the library I’d go with an e-reader that is supported by you’re library so they can download from the library (ours use borrow box so kobo e reader), but if you have fans of eg urban fantasy books then kindle with kindle unlimited is gold as you pay a tenner a month roughly and read away!!

We bought our DS a kindle when he was 6 as we were ending up bringing too many books on holiday. Storage was less of a problem, there’s books everywhere in our house but we’d swap out his books every few months. With different age groups like you have that’s trickier.

Lots of classics in there for free and you can share accounts. If you’ve got kindle unlimited you get a certain number of books for free at a time so you return some to get new ones (DS was constantly returning books DH hasn’t finished) but overall it’s a good solution to needing a volume of books. DS still loves actual books and his room (and my stairs) has stacks everywhere. It won’t solve all your problems but it’s a good addition as you can read in low light and it’s compact. I say go for it.

I would stick with physical books tbh. There's evidence that they have many advantages over E-readers - children have better comprehension, memory retention, and narrative mapping when they read a book. Basically, a child's brain processes print and digital text differently.

I got into Kindle when I found out about the sales and you can buy some classic authors' entire bibliographies for a couple quid.
After I found out how to download books for free from Anna's Archive, I never looked at a physical book again.