Our Philly Editor shares her review of Epic! a digital reading library of over 10,000 books for kids. Read to the end for an awesome promotion for our A Child Grows readers!
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I haven’t done much e-reader reading with my girls in part because I’m a sucker for a gorgeous, well made book that I can hold and enjoy, but also because reading on my iPhone or iPad meant buying each individual title one by one, which, frankly, can get very expensive very quickly. And now, we have the added wrinkle of needing a library of Spanish language books because my daughters are in a Spanish immersion program here in a Philadelphia public school. What’s a parent to do?
How do I introduce my kids to technology in a positive, affordable and educational way that doesn’t include hours of mindless games and videos? Certainly there isn’t an app for THAT!
Oh, but there is… Epic! has you covered. It’s a gem of an app with a full library of thousands of books that are literally at your fingertips at a moment’s notice. In the pediatrician’s waiting room and exhausted every book on the tired looking bookshelf in the corner? Waiting oh, so long for your meal at the restaurant and your children are bored with their coloring book? On a long car ride with the kiddos? Or, are you an e-reader devotee who loves the convenience of reading on a device and want your kids to enjoy the marriage of tech and literature as well?
At first, I’ll admit, I was really only drawn to the app because of the enticement of a full library of Spanish language books without breaking the bank. Then I tried it out to get my daughters’ seal of approval, talked to a couple people from the Epic! team to learn more about their company and mission, and was thoroughly convinced of the quality, integrity and commitment of the app developers to offer a an educational tool that offers a high quality user experience as well as a vast library of books at an affordable subscription price.
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“I watched my son play all the games he wanted, but he couldn’t just go and read any book he wanted. Games and videos were a tap away. Books were not. As a a parent, I had to buy each individual book for my son. There was a wall between kids and books. So we put our skill set to it and we started with the consumer market, because we understand it and because we are parents. We wanted to provide a digital library from a child’s perspective. We wanted kids to have access to a large collection of books–to be able to see all the books.” -Suren Markosian, Epic! Co-Founder
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So, how does it work? First, you can create multiple profiles on your account so that each of your children can build their own reading list. The profile includes basic information like your child’s age, format (i.e. ABC books, Chapter Books, Picture Books, etc), and Interests (here’s where you can select Spanish titles). Once you’ve set up your profile (and you can create up to 4), you’re off and running. It’s easy to browse, search and view specific categories. It’s worth noting that Epic! is available on desktop computers, laptops, Android and iOS devices, which means no matter where you are or what devices you have in your arsenal, you probably have a screen that can showcase the literary awesomeness of the Epic! library.
And, much like the ever popular Netflix does for movies and TV shows, after you’ve read a few books, the app will begin to create a curated “Recommended for You” list of suggestions. You also have the option of “Read to Me” titles, so if you have a little who is not reading on his own, the app will read the book to him if you’re making dinner or driving the car (or writing a product review for a parenting site, perhaps?) and can’t read it yourself.
I really believe this platform is revolutionary in the world of kids educational tech. But not for the reasons you think. You see, not only does Epic! offer thousands of books to families for only $4.99 per month, it also offers educators access to the library for free. Yup, for FREE. And, they can create up to 36 individual profiles so every child in their classroom can have their own curated experience. When I discovered this, I practically swooned. Unfortunately, in today’s world, many schools are woefully lacking in quality reading materials, so teachers pay incredible amounts of their own money for classroom resources. But, even many under-resourced schools have access to some forms of technology (my daughter’s teachers are anxiously awaiting the arrival of iPads and SmartBoards for their classrooms as we speak), which makes access to this resource gratis an even more amazing thing.
Now can you see why I love this product so much? It gives you just about everything you could want: high quality interface and a substantial library brought to you by
a socially aware and engaged company.
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“Our goal is to, first, offer every family in the United States with kids 12 and under a fun way for their kids to read books on any digital platform. The secondary mission is then to expand that globally.”
– Kevin Donohue, Epic! Co-Founder
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Not convinced? Well, for a limited time, you can try Epic! out for yourself for free for two months! Just visit this promo page and enter EPICMOLLIE after you create your account. But, hurry – this promotional code is only good through Sunday, December 20, so sign up today and start reading!
You can also give the gift of Epic! this holiday season. Your favorite kiddos will thank you!
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Mollie Michel is a South Philly resident and a Philadelphia public school parent. A recovering non-profit professional, Mollie is also an experienced birth doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and the mom of two awesome girls and a sweet pit bull named Princess Cleopatra. In her spare time, she is usually trying to figure out how Pinterest works, training for a(nother) half-marathon with her dog at her side, or simply trying to keep up with her increasingly wily daughters.