Get Kids Reading This Summer Like Never Before!

CHICAGO, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer and fun go hand-in-hand but what about summer and reading?

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One in three moms with children age 3- to 7-years old believe their busy schedules make it difficult to ensure their kids are reading enough, according to the new "Summer Smarts" survey conducted on behalf of VTech® by MarketTools, an independent third-party research firm. In addition, more than 40 percent of moms state that simply not having enough time to spend reading with their children is the biggest challenge they face as a parent in trying to make reading an everyday habit for their child.

National Summer Learning Day is Monday, June 21, the same day VTech (www.vtechkids.com), the creator of the electronic learning products category, launches V.Reader, the world's first animated e-book system for children, one of the most talked about and innovative toys coming to market in 2010. V.Reader was designed to engage kids in an interactive reading experience, offer hours of play value, and help combat the dreaded "summer brain drain."

"We understand that parents are looking for ways to merge learning and fun during the summer and VTech is excited to offer the V.Reader, which does exactly that," said Tom McClure, director of marketing, VTech Electronics North America, LLC. "Parents can trust this cutting-edge product to aid in their children's development while proving how learning can be fun too."

"It's important for beginner readers to continue practicing their newly acquired reading skills throughout the summer," said Ron Fairchild, founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association and a national authority on how to expand learning opportunities for youth. "Research shows that access to reading material that matches kids' ability levels and interests, and assistance to ensure comprehension, are important to sustaining and advancing reading skills."  

Additional "Summer Smarts" survey findings show moms need more help encouraging their kids to read and maintain their summer smarts:

• More time! Eight in 10 moms believe that their child would benefit more from reading time (82 percent).
• Summer reading lists are missing-in-action! Nearly eight in 10 kids don't have a summer reading list (78 percent).
• Too little, too hard! Two thirds of moms are worried about how little children read these days while one third of moms say it's harder to get their kids to read during the summer (67%, 34%, respectively).
• Busy, busy! Nearly half of moms of children 3-7 years old wish there were ways to include reading in their child's on-the-go schedule (47 percent).

V.Reader – Ages 3 to 7 years – SRP: $59.99  

Animated e-Book System

Innovative Learning Fun

Using the world's first children's animated e-book system, children who are new to reading will have fun practicing their reading skills. VTech's V.Reader provides the necessary building blocks for kids to grow into a fluent reader as they learn reading comprehension, vocabulary, phonics, word-building and definitions that are easy for them to comprehend.

Reading Comes to Life

Stories come to life as children engage with vivid animation, narration, character voices, graphics, sounds and music as they watch, read, interact and learn. With the V.Reader, they can follow their favorite animated characters such as Toy Story, Shrek and Dora the Explorer, play interactive reading games and view the story dictionary which helps children discover the context of the stories.

Online Bookstore

More than 100 additional stories will be available via a download library located on the VTech website (www.vtechkids.com/download), including some free titles, themes and avatars kids can use to customize their e-books. Additionally, each time a child's V.Reader is connected to a PC or Mac computer, their reading scores are automatically updated to their parent's registered account. Through this account, parents receive an overview of how their child is progressing through key learning curriculum, all of which are tailored to his or her age.

Favorite Characters

At launch, 11 software titles (SRP: $19.99 each) are available and include:

V.Reader is available June 21st at Target, and nationwide in August at key retailers, www.amazon.com and www.vtechkids.com.

More information about National Summer Learning Day is available at www.summerlearning.org

ABOUT THE SUMMER SMARTS SURVEY

The Summer Smarts survey was conducted by MarketTools among a nationally representative sample of 525 mothers with children 3-7 years old. The study was conducted online in May 2010 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

ABOUT VTECH

VTech, the creator of the Electronic Learning Products (ELP) category and the award-winning V.Smile TV Learning System, is a world leader of age-appropriate learning toys. Since 1980, VTech has been developing high-quality, innovative educational products that enrich children's development, from birth to preteen, through fun and smart play.

VTech Electronics North America, LLC is based in Arlington Heights, Ill. VTech Electronics Ltd. is headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

For more information on VTech's additional product lines, visit www.vtechkids.com on the Web, www.facebook.com/VTechToys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter.

SOURCE VTech