We’ve been talking about summer reading now that school is over for my youngest and coming down to the last few weeks for my oldest. With Disney fresh on their minds, I knew that Disney Story Central would be an excellent resource for getting the kids excited about reading. I mean who doesn’t want to know what happens next after Belle saves the Beast?

Emma has learned the basics in kindergarten this year and Ryan loves to read stories with us. If there’s one thing that’s worth giving your kids, it’s the gift of reading. Once they discover that worlds and stories can become real through the magic of words on a page, they become hooked. Nothing gets kids more excited about story-telling than Disney, at least in my experience.

Disney Story Central

Disney Story Central is where you’ll find the largest collection of Disney digital stories. The experience is available on iPhone, iPad tablet-optimized website and Video on Demand (AT&T U-Verse).

One of the things that I love most about this app/website is that you can purchase tokens to apply to your child’s account, and he or she can redeem those tokens for the books they want. There’s no having to ask for permission or authorization. This is a safe place where your child can feel empowered in making choices, thereby building confidence. There is also an annual subscription option offering unlimited access to Disney Story Central’s expansive library of books for $7.99 a month. I like how the account overview shows parents and kids a summary of their experience.

I set up additional readers, and I love that we can all access one another’s book choices, and I am also able to transfer tokens between readers.

At 3 years old, Ryan has not yet mastered the fundamentals of reading. But that does not mean that he can’t enjoy a good story, even on his own. He can sit with the iPad on a road trip and have his book of choice read to him. A much better option than using a portable DVD player for entertainment! You can also set the book to auto-play which will read and automatically turn the page, or let children read to themselves.

We found severals books for him by browsing character keywords. I let him choose three to start and he went with Doc McStuffins, Cars and Jake and the Neverland Pirates books. As children read their books, they will be awarded special trophies to encourage them to keep going.

How do you encourage a love of reading?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.