Library spending on children’s, juvenile, and young adult eBooks in 2014 grew by 48% over 2013. Helping drive this dramatic growth was OverDrive’s 2014 launch of narrated eBooks and highly-illustrated best-selling children’s titles using open industry-standard EPUB3 and OverDrive Read. These popular children’s eBook titles are compatible with any device connected to a web browser, including PCs, tablets, and mobile devices.

Libraries and schools have purchased tens of thousands of titles that showcase illustrations and two-page “across the spine” display of images with the story faithfully reproducing the print editions. As a result of OverDrive’s support for open-standard HTML5 and EPUB3, award-winning and iconic children’s authors and brands, including classic titles from Dr. Seuss, are now available as eBooks for lending from thousands of libraries and schools with an OverDrive catalog.

Narrated eBooks, with audio synced to text, include titles from actors and authors such as John Lithgow, Randy Travis, and Ray Charles, among others. Several narrated titles incorporate a full soundtrack and sound effects. The top-selling narrated eBook titles (all age groups) to libraries for 2014 from OverDrive were:

The 10 Top Selling Illustrated eBooks (all age groups) sold to libraries by OverDrive in 2014 were:

“Ninety-three percent of children between the ages of two and 13 are reading or being read eBooks at least once per week, according to research by PlayCollective and Digital Book World,” says Steve Potash, CEO of OverDrive. “With advancements from OverDrive including Kids eReading Rooms and enhanced eBooks, digital reading can be tailored for specific age groups, creating a truly immersive, quality experience for young readers.”

Visit OverDrive at Digital Book World in booth #302 to see the illustrated picture eBooks, narrated eBooks, streaming video and more.