Bringing eBook Stories to Young Kids

In our weekly authors blog post series, we’d like to introduce you to Lynne Garner.  She has written several children’s fiction books that she’s now turning into eBooks.  For those of you taking tablets or laptops with you as you travel this Holiday Season, perhaps you’d consider downloading a couple of her books to entertain the kids?

By Lynne Garner

Captain and nugget

There have been many studies into the relationship between fostering the habit of reading in children from an early age and their success later in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) "strongly recommends reading to children every day, starting after they are first born," because "reading stimulates the development of the brain, language and a closer emotional relationship with a child."

Believing in the benefits of sharing in this way I have already had some of my picture books converted into apps (available on iTunes via Mad Moment Media Ltd). However, I also want to encourage parents to continue reading with children who are ready to progress onto longer stories. As with my picture books rather than follow the traditional route I decided to release a selection of my books as eBooks.

So in October 2011 I published via Amazon a collection of eight short stories called Anansi the Trickster Spider. The stories are purposely short, each being 1,000 to 1,200 words long. This enables a parent to read a complete story in an evening with their child. I also hope older children who are becoming independent readers will enjoy reading these stories for themselves.

Clever rabbit

With my first book published I am now in the process of writing longer stories aimed at parents wishing to read with their children and newly independent readers. These stories will be broken down into small chapters, allowing a chapter to be read in an evening. I'm hoping in this way a parent will create a lifelong habit of reading in their child and create a closer emotional bond along the way.

Note: If you would like to discover the story behind the writing of Anansi The Trickster Spider visit: The Story of a Book

Lynne Garner is a writer, journalist and writing coach.  She has had over 20 books and 200 feature articles published.  Her first picture book 'A Book For Bramble' has been translated into five languages and my second book 'The Best Jumper' has been recorded and aired on the BBC's CBeeBies radio channel. She teaches a range of writing courses via distance learning, run workshops for teachers and visit schools to give author talks.

If you are an author and would like to tell our readers about your books for children - be they fiction or non-fiction, please contact asa (at) k5learning (dot) com.

Become a Member

This content is available to members only.

Join K5 to save time, skip ads and access more content. Learn More