“Most borrowed library eBooks” include Read-Along titles and popular Halloween books

 

CLEVELAND – October 21, 2015 –eBooks have long been a common format for reading, and digital enhancements with sound and motion are becoming more common as well.  Since being introduced to libraries last year, circulation of Read-Along eBooks (synchronized audio and text, also known as Narrated eBooks) has skyrocketed at libraries across the nation. In one month from August to September 2015, libraries saw a 22% increase in the number of Read-Alongs borrowed. OverDrive, the leading eBook and audiobook platform for libraries and schools, is the only digital lending platform that offers nearly 1,600 Read-Alongs for use both online and offline in a variety of subjects for children.

Young readers can easily follow along with these interactive titles that combine the colorful text and images of an eBook with a read-along capability that highlights words as the narrator reads.  Many narrated titles also incorporate a full soundtrack and sound effects. This helps readers better understand sentence structure, language flow and syntax. Libraries and schools have added hundreds of these interactive stories that faithfully honor the print editions. Library patrons can also find Read-Alongs with well-known characters such as Superman (I Can Read, HarperCollins) and narrators such as John Lithgow, Randy Travis, and Ray Charles, among others.

The most borrowed Read-Along eBook titles from libraries powered by OverDrive through September 2015 are:

  1. Scaredy Squirrel at Night (Kids Can Press Ltd.)
  2. 50 Below Zero (Annick Press)
  3. Curious George Goes to the Zoo (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade and Reference)
  4. I Have to Go! (Annick Press)
  5. Click, Clack, Moo (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Some great Read-Along eBook suggestions for Halloween Storytime are:

  1. Penguin and Pumpkin (Bloomsbury Publishing)
  2. Princess in Disguise (Candlewick Press)
  3. Lulu goes to witch school (Harper Collins)
  4. Froggy’s Halloween (Penguin Young Readers Group)

These popular children’s eBook titles are compatible with most devices with a web browser for online or offline use, including PCs, tablets, and mobile devices. Sample and borrow Read-Alongs and more from your local library by visiting your library’s website or get started at OverDrive.com.

 

About OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading digital distribution platform, supplying the industry’s largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, streaming video and periodicals to 34,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide. We support all major computers and devices, including iOS®, Android™, Chromebook™ and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive delivers all digital media on a single platform, and offers innovations such as OverDrive Read, the breakthrough EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, and narrated eBooks (Read-Alongs).  Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and is owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten. For more information, visit www.overdrive.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and our blog.

Contact:

David Burleigh

Director of Marketing & Communications

dburleigh@overdrive.com

216-573-6886 ext. 218

 

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