Amazon launches Kindle for children

Amazon has launched a Kindle for children, in its first ever dedicated reading experience built for youngsters. 

Kindle Kids Edition, priced at £99.99, includes the latest Kindle (the Kindle 9) with a six-inch display and software to encourage children to read. 

Featuring a parental dashboard, the new e-reader shows what children are reading and how often alongside summaries and talking points from books to boost discussion and engagement. The new edition comes with a child-friendly case, a year's subscription to Amazon's Fire for Kids Unlimited and a two-year warranty. 

With one year of Fire for Kids Unlimited included with the Kindle Kids Edition, children will have access to more than 1,000 e-books including the complete Harry Potter book series, Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Steven Lenton and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Children will also be able to listen to Audible books via headphones or a Bluetooth speaker soon. 

The £99 Kindle also includes features such as achievement badges, a dictionary and vocabulary builder and is available for pre-order now and starts shipping on 30th October. 

Eric Saarnio, head of Amazon Devices, EU, said: “Kindle Kids Edition makes reading fun with achievement badges to help motivate readers to complete the next chapter, plus features like Word Wise and Vocabulary Builder are designed to help early readers build their reading and comprehension skills. With unlimited access to over a thousand new and popular books in Fire for Kids Unlimited, kids can easily find books to match their interests and can bring a library of books with them wherever they go—all on a single, lightweight device.”

Amazon has also launched the updated version of its Fire HD 10 tablet (priced at £149.99). A £199.99 Kids Edition will also be available. It includes a Fire HD 10 tablet with 10.1inch  HD display and comes bundled with a year of Amazon Fire for Kids Unlimited, a kid-proof case and a new adjustable stand.