Sparkup Magical Book Reader Review

As a tech blogger and parent, one of my favorite topics to learn about is how tech can enhance education and make learning fun. I love coming across devices and apps that teach kids something new, make them think, and are fun as well.

Sparkup Magical Book Reader received. This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

And when that tech doesn’t involve a screen? I’m even more intrigued. That’s why I am excited about the Sparkup Magical Book Reader.
The Sparkup Magical Book Reader enables parents to create personalized audio recordings of any illustrated children’s book – you do not have to buy special books. You simply clip the reader on to the back cover, read and record the story, and the kids in your life can listen, read along and feel connected at any time.

The Sparkup is designed for children ages 3 through 8 and as I mentioned above it (and as you can see) it is not a screened device. It simply attaches to the top of a book and records the user’s voice while tracking each page via its built-in camera. Afterwards, any time the device is re-attached to that book, the camera recognizes its images and plays the appropriate recording for each page – while allowing the child to advance at his or her own pace, or even flip through the pages out of order. 

This is a great way for children to learn to read or for them to feel connected to their parents whenever they want to hear their voice. I recorded a book for Kora & Logan to demonstrate so you could see how it works:

Isn’t it amazing?!

Recording the story was very simple. I decided to first try the page by page recording mode. I attached the device to the back inside cover of the book then pushed the green circle to turn it on. Next I hit the record button, listened for the tone, read the page, pushed the green circle, turned the page, pushed the record button, read the next page, and so on. When I was finished I simply closed the book and the story was recorded. The first time I used it I didn’t listen to my recordings as I went, I wanted to see how smooth it would go and I was very impressed that there wasn’t one error or glitch. The story recorded smoothly and followed the book perfectly.

There is also a continuous recording mode which will allows you to read the book from cover to cover without stopping to push any buttons. It detects when you turn the page and you simply listen for the tone and continue reading. So fascinating!

Sparkup’s internal memory holds up to 50 books with 250 minutes of recording space. When you fill the internal memory just move the books to your computer and continue recording.

I love that Sparkup Magical Book Reader can be used on any illustrated children’s book and how easy it is to record and for the children to use as well. This is one of my favorite gadgets for kids that we’ve reviewed here on 2 Wired 2 Tired and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a great holiday gift for the little ones in their lives. It’s a fantastic way for children to develop a love of reading and a great way for them to stay connected to those they love as well.