reading with kids Archives

Over 10 terrific reading apps for upper elementary and middle school kids

by Christina Refford | Back to School Tech, Educational Apps For Kids

Back to School certainly feels different this year, with so much uncertainty and change to our normal school schedule. But one thing that will be certain is that our older kids will need to shake their brains out of summer mode and hit the books, be it with masked...

The OurStory app: Highlighting books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities. YES!

by Kristen Chase | Websites Worth a Bookmark

Over the years, we here at Cool Mom Tech (and Cool Mom Picks) have believed in the importance of supporting diverse companies, products, and books, as well as sharing content from creators from marginalized communities. From POC-owned beauty brands to Black food...

5 of the best audiobook apps to listen to while you scrub the counters. Again.

by Caroline Siegrist | Fun Apps

Anyone else need the escape of audiobooks while we hunker down and wait out the Coronavirus quarantines, school closures, and social distancing? These audiobook apps have proved to be the perfect literary lifeline for me while I’m stuck at home with my young...

Dear Reader is the addictive wordplay game for fans of Jane Austen and Edgar Allen Poe. Yes, really.

by Liz Gumbinner | Fun, Fun Apps

When you think “voracious reader of the classics” you don’t generally think at the same time “..and big game, toor!” And yet, that’s how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade, this fun, quippy, clever, and...

5 of our favorite, fun educational apps to get elementary students excited about learning this year.

by Liz Gumbinner | Back to School Tech, Best Apps, Educational Apps For Kids

Last week, my daughter Sage and I had a great time talking with the crew from News12 (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) about our favorite fun, educational apps for grade schoolers that help your kids make the most out of screen time. I’m glad I had the opportunity...

Back to School Tech: The best apps to help kids with reading

by Cool Mom Staff | Back to School Tech, Best Apps

Every year on Cool Mom Tech, we review and recommend the best reading apps for kids of all ages. This year, we’re putting all of our guides in one handy place, so you can bookmark them and reference them more easily. Whether you’ve got pre-readers or...

2 awesome free reading resources that kids will love

by Kristen Chase | Best Apps

A little over two years ago, we featured Amazon Rapids, a reading app full of stories for kids that read like text messages. Talk about meeting kids where they are, right? Well, just yesterday, Amazon Rapids went from a free app + monthly subscription, to totally 100%...

A clever trick to boost your kids’ reading skills while they watch TV

by Kate Etue | Tips and Tricks

During the dry spell of summer, when our favorite TV shows were in their off season, my 10-year-old daughter and I got hooked on a fun Korean high-school drama series. But while we watched I noticed something I didn’t expect: her reading skills improved. And...

17 of the very best reading apps for kids, from ABCs to SATs | Back to School Tech Guide 2017

by Lexi Petronis | Back to School Tech, Educational Apps For Kids

We’re kicking off our 2017 Back to School Tech Guide with some of the very best reading apps for kids and whether your kids are just beginning to string together letters to make words or they’re tearing their way through Harry Potter for the eighth time,...

This app lets you check out library books on your tablet. Free. From home. Yes!

by Kate Etue | Educational Apps For Kids

I love the feeling of being surrounded by stacks and stacks of actual old-fashioned books at my local library. But, I also love that they’re embracing all the amazing new technology that has huge benefits for busy parents like me, who are still emphatic that our...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.