{"id":70,"date":"2009-10-01T22:17:39","date_gmt":"2009-10-02T05:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=70"},"modified":"2009-10-01T22:17:39","modified_gmt":"2009-10-02T05:17:39","slug":"ebooks-review-wizz-e-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/ebooks-review-wizz-e-com\/","title":{"rendered":"eBooks Review: Wizz-e.com"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"boy_using_computer\"<\/div>\n

I<\/span><\/strong>n my previous post on online eBooks<\/a>, I discussed the benefits of reading and including eBooks as another method to enhance a child’s reading time and further elevate reading as a fun and engaging time to learn.\u00a0\u00a0 In preparing for this post, I visited several free online eBooks websites to see what is currently available.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the most part, the\u00a0 better free eBook websites offer a story where:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 the pages\u00a0 change once you click on the next button or right arrow key<\/p>\n

\u00a0 o\u00a0 they have colorful graphics<\/p>\n

\u00a0 o\u00a0 a voice\u00a0 reads the story for you<\/p>\n

The stories are often entertaining but not too long in length.\u00a0 There are also numerous kids eBook retailers on the web.\u00a0 I wondered, “are\u00a0 their offerings much better than the free eBook resources out there?”\u00a0 I found an opportunity to review Wizz-e.com’s website and read a number of their eBooks.\u00a0 Wizz-e.com is owned by EBooks4Kidz Ltd.\u00a0\u00a0 EBooks4Kidz, Ltd. Is an electronic eBook p\"Wizz-eublisher, so their focus is on producing high quality eBooks – unlike the traditional paper book process that is bogged down with inefficiencies and long timelines.\u00a0 Their sole dedication to eBooks is evident in how they have crafted their storybooks.<\/p>\n

I have to say\u00a0I was impressed with their offerings of eBooks.\u00a0 Although they don’t have a huge collection of eBooks\u00a0 (they have 29 books currently), they offer a good variety of books for children 3 to 8 years of age.\u00a0\u00a0 I sat down at the computer with my six and three year olds and we read\/watched several books together.\u00a0 My kids were instantly intrigued with the familiar stories like “The Three Little Pigs” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”\u00a0 They were eager to see their\u00a0 favorite stories “come alive” on the computer.\u00a0 I have to admit, I was skeptical as to whether the books would capture their attention throughout the whole story.<\/p>\n

As we listened to the story, my daughter began doodling.\u00a0\u00a0 Just as I worried, although sitting on my lap,\u00a0 she felt the freedom to multitask at the desk.\u00a0 I allowed her to doodle for a little bit then I decided to change the option of having the book read to us to her reading the book.\u00a0 She read the pages to her brother and I.\u00a0 My daughter is a first grader, but is a good reader – due to the fact, I believe, that we began reading to her daily at six months old.\u00a0 She was able to read most words of the book, however, as there were many words on the page, she grew tired of reading.\u00a0 We compromised by allowing her to read a page and let the voice read the next page.\u00a0 We do the same routine with longer paper books during our nightly routine.\u00a0 My daughter enjoyed clicking on the next buttons and clicking on the words she didn’t know to hear how they are pronounced.\u00a0 To my amazement, my son paid attention the entire time.<\/p>\n

At the end of each story there is an interactive quiz which questions kids not only the content of the story but also the sequence of it.\u00a0 Each quiz consists of five questions.\u00a0 Despite my daughter’s doodling, she answered all five questions\u00a0 correctly.\u00a0 After we were done reading, I looked more closely at my daughter’s doodles.\u00a0 She had written a summary from both books:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Kayla's<\/p>\n

My daughter’s doodles.\u00a0 The first one is her summary of the “Three Little Pig”s<\/address>\n
and the second one is her summery of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” – “They are Bad,<\/address>\n
\u00a0They ate her.”\u00a0 In this Goldilocks story, the bears do end up eating Goldilocks.\u00a0<\/address>\n
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw in her doodle.<\/address>\n

The animations on the pages were cute and the kids liked re-watching some of the scenes.\u00a0 It was good for the kids to hear a different voice reading them a book too – with different tones and intonations.\u00a0 The books are read by a British woman or a British man so it gave us a chance to talk about accents and how they differ from ones in the US.<\/p>\n

The next day my son was eager to hear more eBooks.\u00a0 In particular, he wanted his familiar stories, The Three Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. After reading his two favorites, we ventured off into new storylines.\u00a0 I loved the book “When I Don’t Want to Sleep.”\u00a0 What a fantastic book!\u00a0 The illustrations are very graphically appealing and the animations are very cute.\u00a0 The storyline is clever and imaginative.\u00a0 It is\u00a0 fun to read with its rhyming and ability to excite your child of all that awaits them after s\/he falls asleep.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"A<\/p>\n

\u00a0“It’s way past your bedtime” they [parents] always say<\/p>\n

But then they tell me I can still play\u2026<\/p>\n

Because in my dreams I can play in my head!<\/p>\n

But only if I am asleep in my bed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wizz-e has a good variety of familiar and new stories available on their site.\u00a0 eBooks can be purchased from anywhere to $1.99 to $8.99 with most books falling between $2.99 to $4.99.\u00a0 My favorite book, “When I Don’t Want to Sleep,” is regularly priced at $8.99 but is now on special for $1.99.\u00a0 To buy the book you have two options:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Save it under “My Books” under your login so that no matter where you are, you can access the book online to read over and over again.<\/li>\n
  2. Download it to your computer so you do not need Internet access to view your book.\u00a0 If you choose this option, download it to your laptop so when you travel, your kids can view the book as often as they like.\u00a0 In the purchasing contract, it states that you are permitted to download the book to a single computer and may not transfer it to other computers or users.\u00a0 So be sure you download it to the computer that will be used the most by your kids.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0Benefits of Wizz-e Compared to Free eBooks<\/span><\/h2>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 higher illustrations quality\"Hoop-La<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 larger display on the screen<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 gives option to change volume right on the book screen<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 good graphics and sound when “turning the page” of the book<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 interactive quiz at the book ensures child is paying attention and prepares them for online tests at school<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 flexibility to download onto a laptop to take on trips with you- provides better learning possibilities and interaction for kids rather than just DVD movies<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 fast loading time for each book and page<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Opportunities for Wizz-e to Improve Upon<\/span><\/h2>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 more voices – of the six eBooks I tested, it seemed as if only two voices are reading all the books.\u00a0 Variety and different intonations of voice makes eBooks more interesting for kids<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 interactivity – more interactivity can be created by highlighting various objects that perform different actions if clicked.\u00a0 For example, click on the lamp and the light turns on or off.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00a0 more books – they’ve got a great start already on a variety of books – keep that library going!<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0My “Squeeze” on Wizz-e.com<\/span><\/h2>\n

    \u00a0Wizz-e.com is a delightful and entertaining site to explore eBooks which my children were interested in.\u00a0 Their eBooks had wonderful illustrations, interesting storylines, and cute animations that seem to make the book come alive.\u00a0 Wizz-e.com’s eBooks not only captured my kids’ attention, but helped them to retain the story and its sequence in their minds – as confirmed by their correct answers at the quiz at the end of each story.<\/p>\n

    As I wrote in my post, “Kids’ Online eBooks:\u00a0 Don’t Overlook Their Importance,” the future of our children’s education will be rooted in technology.\u00a0\u00a0 Our kids are a part of the “Digital Generation.”\u00a0 There is a reason why they can figure out how to change the ring-tone on your phone leaving you hostage with that\u00a0ring-tone\u00a0until they change it back.\u00a0 Kids love technology because they find it engaging,\u00a0\u00a0 it allows them to self-direct their learning at their pace, they\u00a0 can be creative with it, and it’s very empowering.\u00a0 They can use technology at new levels that aren’t possible in their normal lives.<\/p>\n

    Tying your child’s love for books with their\u00a0 growing interest in technology is a match made in heaven.\u00a0 There’s no doubt in my mind that education will move to eBooks and online tests as funds and further software development are made available.\u00a0 Do what you can now to empower your child for their future.<\/p>\n

    Happy reading!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Lori<\/p>\n

    PP\u00a0 (post post):\u00a0\u00a0 Attention Readers!\u00a0 For a short time, Wizz-e.com is offering wellconnectedmom.com readers a 25% discount on all of their eBooks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Go to Wizz-e.com, select your books, and use this code:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WCM09<\/strong>\u00a0at checkout before Oct. 21st. to take advantage of this offer.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    For more information on reading and\u00a0 eBooks, see my previous post entitled, “Kids Online eBooks: Don’t Overlook Their Importance<\/a>.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In my previous post on online eBooks, I discussed the benefits of reading and including eBooks as another method to enhance a child’s reading time and further elevate reading as a fun and engaging time to learn.\u00a0\u00a0 In preparing for this post, I visited several free online eBooks websites to see what is currently available.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[64,86,152,154,227,230],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kids","tag-computer","tag-ebook","tag-learning","tag-learning-to-read","tag-reading","tag-review","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}