Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
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Jimey the Woodpile Mouse
III. Goodreads Readers
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How common is it for readers to use iPads or tablets in general for children's books?
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In our house - the kids prefer paperbacks. Our youngest is 9 and doesn't use a device at all. Oldest is 12 and while we occasionally send books to his tablet, he prefer a paperback.I'm not sure what age your book is aimed at, but as a parent I wouldn't even think of giving a young child a device, we have always bought physical books for the boys. Plus books are a popular gift from friends & family at Christmas and for birthdays, so that has always added to their stack of books.
While there are some child friendly devices now, I understand children's books, MG, and even YA, still far outsell in physical books not e-books. It's a segment of the market that really needs a large publisher behind it and placement in a store, to sell.
As a parent of four children to whom I read until they learned to read on their own and a grandparent who read to his children's children until they were able to read on their own, I concur with A.W.'s assessment that the overwhelming preference of the adults who purchase children's books and the children who read them is the traditional print format.
Thank you both for the comments, this is great feedback! That does lead me to one more question. When buying physical children's book do you prefer brick and mortar stores or do you also buy online from Amazon?
I'm definitely finding with teens they don't have Kindles for the most part, they read on ipads or phones if not paper books.You're writing for a younger age group of course. Many mums I know are using ipads to read picture books with their kids. It might be that at an age where they can't be trusted with an ipad, they aren't reading independently in any case.
Of course, when I say mums are using ipads, they're still using paper books more!
Strictly from personal observation and input from my adult children, most children's books are purchased from traditional brick and mortar stores. It may be due to the colorful displays and marketing props, specifically designed to attract the attention of children.
Stores. We tend to browse and the kids love to pick their own books. Looking at a screen doesn't appeal as much as picking up a book, feeling it and flicking through the first few pages.
You have to experiment and find out what works best for your books and your audience. Surprisingly yes, parents are buying ebooks for their children. This doesn't mean that children all have their own reading devices (though some do). There are many cases when it's handy to have ebooks and apps on hand for kids (especially when out of the house). As a parent I will take a printed book over a digital one any day, but as an author I can say that currently I sell 3 or 4 times as many children's ebooks as I do print ones. The market is much smaller, that is true but there is also less competition than in the chldren's print book market (which is enormous). I tried Apple for a few months, the potential is very good, but I personally didn't have much success, even the free books seemed invisible there. I am currently exclusive on Amazon KDP select for all 5 titles and things are building slowly. The lending option on Amazon is also worth taking into account. Good luck with the books.
Thanks again everyone for your continued feedback, very helpful!
I read a ton of ebooks personally, but I only read physical books with my 5 year old son. We have an ipad, and he does like playing on it, but we generally read at bedtime, and that's a electronic-free time so his eyes can unwind.
I recently read that when people buy books for other children as gifts they're still more likely to buy physical copies, but for their own children, the convenience of ebooks is increasingly popular.
Thanks Sarah and Sara, helpful feedback!
As a new self-published children's author I am faced with the challenge of getting my book to readers in a cost effective way, for reviews and feedback. I made my latest title free for iPad. How is the adoption of full color children's books going for iPad verses Kindle? Is the use of a tablet becoming more common for children's books, or is it still a general challenge to get parents to go digital, as opposed to hardcover? If tablet adoption is growing, what is the preferred format - Kindle or iPad? My title is available for iPad and in hardcover, but I added sounds and narration for the iPad version to differentiate it. Would love to hear feedback.