Print it and read it off the screen
Every finished book comes with a copy you can download and print at home, so a child reads a real printed book instead of a screen.
What it is
Every finished book can be saved as a PDF and printed on an ordinary home printer. The cover, every illustration, the story and the dedication page all come with it, laid out as a book. The file is yours to keep, and you can download it again as often as you like.
What it is for
This is our answer to screen time. A book they read on a tablet becomes a book they read on paper, at the table or under a blanket, with nothing to charge and nothing else on the page competing for them. There is no order to place, and nothing at all to wait for.
How to use it
- Open Library and find the book on the shelf. A book has to have finished before it can be downloaded.
- Tap Download PDF on its card.
- Wait a moment while the file is put together. It saves under the book's own title.
- Print it from whatever opens a PDF on your machine, on plain paper or on something heavier.
- Fold and staple the pages, or punch them and use a folder, and it goes in a school bag like any other book.
What we suggest
Print the first one before you decide how you feel about it. A book a child can carry about, fold back and leave on the floor gets treated differently from one behind glass. Plain paper is fine for the story. Print the cover on something heavier if you want it to last.