This $8.95 Mark-My-Time Digital Bookmark encourages young readers to hit the books by tracking their progress every day. Slim enough to fit between the pages of any book, it works in either countdown mode or as a cumulative timer that stores the total time of multiple reading sessions. It's perfect for a school assignment where your little loved one is required to read a certain number of hours per day. Maybe if you let the little tyke learn to set this thing, it'll feel like some kind of game.

This could be the perfect lure to get the kid to curl up with a good book. But something tells us that using technological devices as measuring tools might not be the best way to stimulate childhood curiosity toward reading. If this gadget doesn't do the trick, here's a better idea: Choose the literature carefully, and that little bookworm will keep turning the pages long after the countdown timer has sounded. — Charlie White

Mark My Time, via Ubergizmo