We are very fortunate to have received this amazing new book reader. It has already proved to be a huge hit with families across the USA. It has just been recently released over here in the UK and is sure to be a big Christmas buy.
Spark Up Reader is basically a book reader but with a difference. Unlike many other electronic book readers out there this one will read and can be fitted to almost any book. Be it old or new, big or small this little gadget works with any book in your collection.
This means that there is no more expense as parents to not have to try and find certain types of books to work with it.
It’s a small simple lightweight device. It simply clips onto the back of any book and then simply folds out so it’s attached properly.
Spark up reader contains a built in microphone and a tiny camera. The main button is for playing, pausing and resetting and there is a record button which is slightly hidden away on the inside. There is also a volume control on top of the reader.
Now the magic begins!
The Spark up Reader is very clever. It has a few different recording modes and I find the page by page mode the easiest. Once you press record it asks you to say what the book is called and records the front page. You can then pause and listen back to each page recording and even edit if needed.
Once the whole book is recorded we simply press the main button and the voice tells us that the book was successfully recorded. We can then listen back and play it when we wish simply by attaching the Spark up Reader to our chosen book.
This reading gadget is so clever. If we skip a page or flick back a page then it knows and reads the correct page we are on.
It’s easy enough to use. I did make a mistake to begin with by not opening the reader out properly whilst on the book. Ryan quickly corrected the mistake for me.
Ryan and Jordanna have now gone back to school. Meaning Izebella is all on her own and no one to really play with or even annoy during the day. Ryan thought it would be a nice idea to record some of Izebellas books into the reader with him reading so she could still hear him and Jordanna during the day.
On this video, Ryan has already prerecorded this book and is playing the reader to show how it works.
I have also done some books myself for when I am busy making tea or doing housework. Then any of my children can listen to the reader on their books.
This reader is really amazing. To look at it, it doesn’t look much but it actually records and stories up to 50 books and up to 4 hours of audio and as I said above these can be any books.
Spark Up magical book reader does come with batteries pre installed. I’m not too sure how long these batteries will last as ours is still running on the original batteries. It takes 3 x AA batteries which give up to 30 hours play back. It has 256mb memory and supports SPK files only.
With our Spark Up Reader came 3 books (including the introductory book) and a USB lead.
The reader can be connected to a computer and this then allows all the files to be viewed and edited. Files can be renamed and deleted if not required.
Easy to follow instructions are included as well as voice prompts on the reader itself.
This is a lovely interactive toy. It’s special as it can be used by any family member be it adult or child. Family who visit and live far away can record a story for a child. When they have to leave the child can then hear their voice even when they are not there. This would be really nice for parents who live elsewhere or have to work a away or even if a child is left with someone else for the odd night they can still feel secure hearing their parents voice reading their favourite story.
If a mistake is made whilst reading and recording then it’s not a problem as pages can easily be re recorded by an easy edit function. There is no delete button on the device meaning precious recordings are never accidentally deleted. They can only be deleted by connecting to a computer.
My Spark Up Reader came straight from the USA. It is now available in the UK too from big toy retailers such as Smyths, Toys r Us, Littlewoods and other stockists. Prices do vary but it is usually between £34 – £45.
I found this lovely video from Spark Up Reader which I thought would be nice to share.
