I was recently introduced to a new company called Readeo. Readeo “combines the best children’s books with reliable video chat to create a shared reading experience called BookChat where people can see, hear, read, and interact” with loved ones – just as if you were in the same room. So, whether you are a grandparent who would love to read to your grandchild at night, a parent who is away on business, or a military spouse who is deployed overseas, this site will enable to you to connect with your loved one during storytime wherever you may be.
Readeo makes it very easy to share storytime even when you don’t live near family or friends. Once you sign into Readeo, it is quick and easy to set up a BookChat with another person. In order to connect in a BookChat, both parties will need an internet connection, a webcam (or at least a microphone to hear each other), and a Readeo account. BookChats are one-to-one, meaning only 2 people can be in a BookChat at once.
Readeo is a fairly new company and, for this reason, their library is currently limited to a little over 30 books. However, they continue to add books daily and as their site grows, so will their library. Most of their current books are aimed at children between 1-8 years old.
Ok, I know what you are thinking. This sounds great, but how much is this going to cost me? Well, if you want to only be able to access the Book of the Month, you can do it for free as a Guest. However, in order to experience everything Readeo has to offer, I recommend you purchase a membership. The great thing about the membership is that only one party has to be a Member. For example, if you are a grandmother and want to be able to read to your grandchildren that are scattered around the country, you would purchase a membership. You would then have everyone else you want to connect with sign up as Guests. As long as one person in the BookChat is a paid Member, you will be able to read any book in the Readeo Library together. When you sign up to be a Member, you get a FREE 14-Day Trial. During the trial, you have access to all the books in the Readeo Library and are able to cancel at anytime during the 14-day period without being charged. After your 14-day trial, you can choose to pay either $9.95 per month for the service or pay a one time fee of $49.95 for a year. Obviously, the yearly option is cheaper in the long run and will save you 59% off the monthly fee. They do note that the yearly fee is discounted and is a limited time offer, set to expire the end of March. As a bonus, my readers can get one month free subscription to Reado when you set up an account through this link and enter the code “goreadeo.”
Overall, I think Readeo is a fantastic concept. As a former military spouse, I would have loved for this to be around a couple years ago when my husband was deployed overseas. It would have been great for my (then) 1 year old to be able to see and hear his Daddy during his bedtime story. I hope that you don’t have to be separated from your loved ones, but if you do, this is a great way to connect and interact while you are away.
Disclaimer: I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are honest and my own. Thank you to Readeo for providing me with a complimentary three month subscription.
