Tablets and smartphones have no doubt offered several options for beginning readers, as well as those with visual impairments who can’t view standard text. Sparkup Magical Book Reader is a revolutionary device that gets children’s faces out of screens and allows them to interact with real books! It allows you to record the book yourself, or download professionally recorded stories. In sum, this magical device allows individuals to read more independently, on an actual book!
Sparkup is a company founded by young parents who “felt a growing need to take kids out of these digital realms and help them rediscover the non-digital world around them, both independently and together with their families.” The founders collaborated with talented engineers, programmers, and designers to create fun and educational gizmos to “sparkup” playtime and storytime!
Overview of Sparkup Magical Book Reader:
There’s so much going on with this revolutionary device so I deem it necessary to break many of the benefits and features down:
Easy to use:
The Sparkup Magical Book Reader is easy to use. To begin using the device:
- Select a picture book that has already been recorded or downloaded onto Sparkup.
- Clip Sparkup onto your selected book and press the center button.
- Flip the pages and let your imagination run wild as Sparkup follows along!
This revolutionary device allows individuals to read independently, connect with loved ones, and spark their great imaginations! According to the developer’s website, “Sparkup makes kids fall in love with their books – real books – by adding another dimension to the reading experience. Bring the words and pages to life with personalized recordings, sound effects, and special touches that will ignite children’s imaginations and entice them to choose books over screens.”
How it works:
The developer thoroughly explains how the technology behind the reader works:
Sparkup’s proprietary technology enables the Magical Book Reader to see and read using computer vision. Just as we look at a picture and later remember where we saw it, the Sparkup remembers every page it sees. We, humans, use two main ‘devices’ to see: the eyes and the brain. Eyes capture different shades of light, while the brain processes the light changes and remembers what it sees. The Sparkup uses a tiny camera as its ‘eye,’ and a tiny computer chip as its ‘brain.’
How it benefits those with special needs.
While the device is ideal for beginning readers, the device is also beneficial for individuals with special needs. “For the visually impaired, Sparkup provides a platform to engage with nearly any printed book as the text is read aloud; it can even assist in the teaching of braille.”
The device is also noted to benefit individuals with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disabilities. The Sparkup allows individuals to repeat entire pages or paragraphs of nearly any book, and allows them to read at their own pace.
What is included when you purchase the reader:
The device is available to purchase on Amazon. When you order it, it’ll come with:
- The Magical Book Reader
- One USB cable
- A hardcover demo book
- Instruction manual
- 3 AA batteries
Click here to learn more about the Sparkup Magical Book Reader.