Kora and Logan live 3 1/2 hours from one set of grandparents. We try to keep in touch as much as possible using our web cam. One of Grandma & Grandpa’s favorite things to do with the web cam is read books to the kids. Unfortunately, some of the spark of the story seems to get lost when Kora & Logan either can’t see the pictures in the book while Grandma is reading or can’t see Grandpa’s face when he is showing the pictures.
Readeo (pronounced like “video”) has come up with a solution. Readeo is best described as a “web based library of children’s books mixed with a web cam.” The impressive selection of interactive books combined with a web cam allow traveling or military parents, or long-distance grandparents, or even cousins the next town over to all share and enjoy the same story.
I had a chance to try out Readeo and was hoping to have my parents sign-up for the free guest account, but unfortunately their computer crashed. I did get to look around the site though and it has much to offer.
The library currently consists of 41 books which can be found through browsing, searching by title or author, or selecting age group or category. New books are added frequently and announcements are made through the Readeo BookChatter Blog and on their Twitter account. I was very pleased to find popular titles such as Maisy Goes to Preschool and One Duck Stuck among others.
To use Readeo each party needs an account. If both parties are just starting, you both can sign-up as a Guest and try the Readeo Book of the Month for free. If one of the parties has a member account you’ll be able to select other books from the library. Upgrading to a member accounts come with a free 14-day trial and a money-back guarantee.
There is nothing to download to your computer, which I was thankful for because my computer is on it’s last legs (please don’t tell it I said that!) and I have become wary about downloading anything else to it. Instead, through the Readeo site, everyone is able to see and hear each other in small windows at the bottom of the screen. In the BookChat, everyone will also be able to see a crisp, clear, and large image of the book and either party can turn the pages. Also, if no one is available to BookChat you can still utilize Readeo and read any of the books without connecting to a web cam.
Here’s a short video that shows how Readeo works while explaining how it got it’s start:
Right now, Readeo is offering readers of 2 Wired 2 Tired a chance to try out their service for one month free with the coupon code “goreadeo.”
Try it free for one month and help your children connect with military, traveling, or long-distance relatives or just their cousins the next town over.
Thank you to Readeo for providing VIP access to review the product. No compensation was provided for this review.
Looks pretty interesting. It’s amazing, the things that can be accomplished online these days. Can’t say I’m keen to another monthly fee, but this will definitely have it’s use among people.
Gosh I wish my kids grandparents were close to them. This is such a fantastic idea!
Thanks for sharing. I’m off to check it out.
Readeo is perfect for my son. I will definitely try this one. Thank you for sharing.
This looks so neat. I think we’ll try out the free trial. Although, when you said either party can turn the pages, I think I’ll keep that info to myself and not share with the kids. They’d be turning pages all the time and no reading would get done!