reading with kids

Sometimes we think of reading apps as being for little kids, but reading apps for kids in high school and middle school can be extremely helpful. Whether your kids are voracious readers or a bit more reluctant to get lost in a book when …

I'm among millions of parents all over the country concerned about widespread efforts to ban "controversial" books in our public libraries. Especially when the lists include some of our favorite books , and plenty of them are not "contro…

Lately, a lot of readers have been asking us about apps that let you check out free library books. Or, free e-books to be technical. So here's the info on a favorite of ours, the hoopla digital app . While I love the feeling of being sur…

In our Out Tech Your Kids group on Facebook, a parent recently asked for recommendations for great news podcasts for kids. Our readers replied with some really good suggestions, so we wanted to round them up for you...and add a few more …

This is a sponsored message from Duolingo ABC You probably already know Duolingo as the most popular language-learning app around the world. But you may not have tried the brand new Duolingo ABC , which was designed to help all kids lear…

Over the years, we here at Cool Mom Tech (and Cool Mom Picks) have believed in the importance of supporting diverse companies, products, and books, as well as sharing content from creators from marginalized communities. From POC-owned be…

Anyone else the escape of audiobooks while we find moments to ourselves? These audiobook apps proved to be the perfect literary lifeline for me while I was stuck at home with my young children during the quarantine, and are keeping me go…

When you think "voracious reader of the classics" you don't generally think at the same time "..and big game, toor!" And yet, that's how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade , this fun, quippy, clever, and fair…

Last week, my daughter Sage and I had a great time talking with the crew from News12 (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) about our favorite fun, educational apps for grade schoolers that help your kids make the most out of screen time. I'm g…

Every year on Cool Mom Tech, we review and recommend the best reading apps for kids of all ages. This year, we're putting all of our guides in one handy place, so you can bookmark them and reference them more easily. Whether you've got p…

A little over two years ago, we featured Amazon Rapids , a reading app full of stories for kids that read like text messages. Talk about meeting kids where they are, right? Well, just yesterday, Amazon Rapids went from a free app + month…

During the dry spell of summer, when our favorite TV shows were in their off season, my 10-year-old daughter and I got hooked on a fun Korean high-school drama series. But while we watched I noticed something I didn't expect: her reading…

We're kicking off our Back to School Tech Guide with some of the very best reading apps for kids and whether your kids are just beginning to string together letters to make words or they're tearing their way through Harry Potter for the …

When Guy Raz, of NPR's TED Radio Hour and Wow in the World podcast fame, recommends a website for kids, you go, because, obvy. And no surprise, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Storyline Online is a fantastic resource for parents that you migh…

We love finding new, interesting ways to grow passionate readers, so that's why when we discovered Amazon Rapids , a new reading app that just launched today, we were very intrigued. Because unlike other reading apps for kids you've seen…

As if free two-day shipping on almost any purchase and the ability to shop for groceries in my pajamas wasn't reason enough to join Amazon Prime, their newest feature, Prime Reading , has convinced me to keep on renewing my membership. P…

Our back to school 2016 guide continues with our picks for some of the best reading apps for kids. From preschoolers learning ABC basics and sight words, to older kids needing a synonym for obsequious (or uh, maybe that is the synonym?),…

So, I want my daughter to read more this summer, and with all our upcoming travel, I'm considering a tablet or e-book reader but I'm not sure which is best. -Dawn We're definitely with you that gadgets can be a whole lot easier to travel…

Next up in our Back to School Tech Guide 2015, we're happy to share 10 of the best reading apps for little kids. Because as plenty of us parents know, getting kids hyped about reading isn't always an easy road. So when they're first star…

Some of our kids are really picky when it comes to books -- not too long, not too short, with just the right plot points and character types. Then there are the ones who go through books so quickly that we can barely keep up with suggest…

Since so many of you write us asking for the best Android apps for kids , we are so honored that Google Play reached out too, asking us to be this month's expert kids' app curator in their family category! We get to join the likes of tru…

We're all pretty picky when it comes to kids' ebooks around here, but when you're adapting a classic from my own childhood like Dr. Seuss, my standards skyrocket. Even so, I am wildly impressed with the brand new Cat in the Hat Read and …

If you love to read, this Saturday's National Readathon Day gives you a perfect excuse to spend the day reading to, and with, the kids. So this week's recommended music downloads are a trio of songs from Latin Grammy-nominated Mister G t…

Though reading to the kids has always been one of my favorite things to do, it’s not always possible for those of us who travel for work, have a newborn, or just get too busy to drop everything to read a book for the fourth time in an ho…