How Audiobooks and Amazons Kindle improve reading skills

How many books do you have congesting the shelves of your library? Can you imagine to remove them all and holding over 200 titles in a little device, which is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback and weighs only 10.3 ounces.

This new device (released in November of 2007) can download text in a variety of formats from Amazon and other places. The ebooks or documents can be read on the screen of the kindle, or they can be listened to on the device.

If you would love the ability to read along with an Audible book, you will find out that this feature is not possible right now. In any event, since there is one feature that allows (music) MP3’s to be played while reading, this would also work with MP3 Audiobooks. (Search for MP3 Audiobooks on Audado)

For the sake of completeness I would like to mention that due to the fact that MP3 files are larger space may become a consideration.

Amazon has created their own file format for the device (AZW). Anyway, it can also read .txt files and some .pdf files (although .pdf files are not fully supported at this time). On ‘opening day’ Kindle had 88,000 titles available through Amazon.. One can read fiction or non-fiction books as well as everything from best sellers to more obscure titles.

Another benefit of Amazons Kindle in combination with audio books is that they can play a vital role in developing fluency and comprehensions skills of children. If you let your kid hear audiobooks and follow along in the Kindle ebook version it will build decoding skills and vocabulary that are essential for improving reading accuracy and rates.

The Kindle is a breakthrough device, in many ways analogous to the first iPod. Just as the iPod brought MP3 players to the masses, the Kindle will be the device that introduces ebooks and audiobooks to many people.