🐴 Access 75,000 free books without Amazon

Jeremy Caplan reveals a treasure trove of free reading resources that expand your child's learning world without expanding your budget. PLUS: Becoming an educational architect.

March 17, 2025

3 Quick Bites:

🍎 Educational architects, not curriculum consumers, will shape the future
🍎 Mike Rowe's shocking revelation about the 800% surge in college costs
🍎 Free library tools that expand your child's reading world without expanding your budget

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💡 THOUGHT

EDUCATIONAL ARCHITECTS

The future belongs to educational architects: parents who design personalized learning environments—mixing structured lessons, online platforms, real-world projects, and self-directed exploration—rather than merely implementing standardized curriculum.

📊 TREND

COLLEGE COSTS SKYROCKET

"Nothing since 1982 has increased in cost faster than the cost of a four-year degree. Not health care, not real estate, not food, not energy. Nothing."

Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs host, notes that the same college education that cost him $11,000 costs close to $90,000 today. Watch the full interview here.

🔨 TOOL

WONDER TOOLS FOR READERS

Jeremy Caplan's latest "Wonder Tools" newsletter delivers a treasure trove of free resources for families expanding their children's reading horizons beyond traditional library shelves.

Here are a few standouts worth exploring:

Libby connects to 90% of U.S. libraries, offering instant free access to ebooks and audiobooks with features like adjustable reading speeds and passage highlighting.

Project Gutenberg offers over 75,000 free ebooks and audiobooks with no registration required. Their collection includes classics, reference books, and educational materials—all free.

BookBub features the best deals on bestselling ebooks.

Kanopy provides free access to quality documentaries and films with your library card—including a dedicated kids section featuring video versions of books by Eric Carle and Mo Willems.

WhichBook's World Map offers a geographical approach to finding literature, allowing children to explore books set in specific regions around the world.

(We’re bookmarking this one for the future.)

That’s all for today! See you tomorrow.

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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