It can be tough to be stuck inside, especially for kids. They still have school, but with extracurricular activities and social lives being canceled, they have plenty of free time to fill. Luckily, it’s super easy to find new children’s books to read with all the apps and digital resources offered by our library. Here’s one place to help children, tweens and other young readers find fun stuff to read from home.
My favorite reading app is OverDrive. If you’ve never used it before, no worries! Watch our Niche Academy tutorial to learn about OverDrive’s two apps, Libby and OverDrive. There are even some device specific instructions to help you get connected. You can find those by clicking on the device’s name on the right. You can then go right to OverDrive so you can get started. Make sure you have your library card and PIN ready.
If you can use a phone, tablet or computer, you can use OverDrive! There are tons of eBooks and eAudiobooks for readers of all ages to discover. With everything from picture books like The Adventures of Beekle to chapter books like Mr. Klutz is Nuts, you’ll find something for your young reader will love!
If you want to filter out books for older readers, you can use the special Kids section. It hides all the boring adult and teen books and focuses on the fun stuff. You can find the link under the menu button at the top right on your phone or in the top center menu on a computer.
Most of the time, you’ll be able to instantly borrow available eBooks and eAudiobooks from popular series like Big Nate and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but sometimes there are limited digital copies, so you can’t always check out the book you want right away. Not a problem—put yourself on the wait list by placing a hold. You will get an alert when it’s time to check out your book.
If you don’t want to wait, that’s fine. We’ve added tons of great titles, from old classics like Prince Caspian and other Narnia adventures, to slightly-less-old classics like The Adventures of Captain Underpants: Now in Sound-O-Rama. If you’re a fan of Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey, you can see what other books we have from him by clicking on his name, which just so happens to lead you to the Dog Man books. Yes, you read that right, we have digital graphic novels and comics too!
So if you’re looking for things to do, join me in enjoying the OverDrive and Libby apps, and be sure to check out our other eResources!