Big Universe- Review and AWESOME book site!

When the kindle first came out, I admit I was kind of stand-offish. I am old school. I love the pictures in kids books. I love the smell of books. I love the feel. In fact, I refused to give anything other than paper books a chance. That was until Big Universe contacted me about their website. I agreed to take a peak, mainly because I one day hope to publish children's books and articles so this interested me. I was shocked on how excited I was to read book after book after book......online and with my kids. We printed up coloring pages, I tested out our favorite made-up song as a story. It was....in a word, AWESOME!
I know a lot of my readers are just like this family and in love with the written word. That is one of the things that unite us. So when I tell you that I recommend this site, I am being honest. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a publisher, whatever you may be, Big Universe will keep you reading and playing for hours. So there is my rave....now for the what is it.

Big Universe is almost like the SuperTarget of online libraries. It is a web 2.0 literacy site that has hundreds of quality books for grades K-8. Its lets you read hundreds of children's books right there on your computer. It is comprised of both publisher and


user-created stories. As a mom, I really enjoyed having this as a "time waster" before preschool. I pulled out my cell phone and we read a story while we waited for the door to open. (I was SO happy not to hear "is the door open is the door open is the door open for ten minutes). You can look for the type of book you would like to read by category, grade, reading level, interest age, or even language. Then, if you like a particular author, just simply click to see what else they have to offer.....without a late fee. And I have to tell you...with the amount that I have paid in late fees, and the extra services this offers, it is very reasonable. Added to that, I can read books with my kids without purchasing the high priced books that they will outgrow quickly. Publishers include SeaSquit, Lobster Press, Matthew Prices, Anderson, Dawn Publications, Charlesbridge, Saddleback and more. There are also teacher created materials. You can get fiction or non-fiction, and there are even quizzes and assesments that test your memory of what you have read and your reading level!! And did I already mention the fun coloring pages?

Even beyond reading, you can CREATE your own book. I was a little skeptical about this...until I did it. I spent over two hours just engrossed before I realized it was WAY past time for me to hit the sack! The pictures are cute and look professional. It was amazing to see my story come alive before me...looking like I imagined it in my mind. And then my son and I sat down and created a little story, something we do at night but have never done on paper. He loved picking the pictures to go with the story. My son is only 3. I can't wait to watch that budding author come out of him with this website. After your book is created, you can even share it with the over 16,000 members that are already a part of this community!

Check out Big universe at biguniverse.com

I don't often do reviews, but this one truly deserved it. I am so glad they contacted me so that I could become a part of the community and read and make books (as well as memories) with my children!

I was given a six month subscription to become familiar with and use biguniverse.com. The opinions are my own and true to my opinion, and were not affected by the subscription.