So, here are some of my opinions as a counterpoint, based on my personal experiences with both print and digital books and many years working with children & families. Ways books on tablet devices MAY increase children’s literacy, not decrease:
- They offer a rare alternative to other digital media, right on a highly desirable digital device and in a way that actually gives books a fighting chance to be equally appetizing to our media-savvy kids.
- They are the only way digital media for kids, an already growing category of time in our children’s daily lives, might truly give back by sharing time with reading.
- Most book apps have a ‘Read Myself’ option and even when they don’t, anything with a text story can always be muted and still have some of the magic of the iPad by having high resolution, back-lit illustrations. This means books at bedtime, a naturally dimly lit environment, can be particularly enchanting just from the color and light.
- Tired parents can more easily have a book read to both parent and child and may share more books with their kids as a result. Instead of 1 or 2 books at bedtime, a parent can share 3 or 4, for instance, which is no small thing in the lifetime of an early reader’s experience.
- In households that are not reading to children (1 in 5), these ebook apps represent one of the most realistic ways to quickly increase exposure to children’s picture books by children not even in school yet. The ease of use, instant gratification and reasonable prices for digital book apps, in addition to their high-tech appeal, makes the transition to reading easier for families that haven’t been reached by our otherwise extensive efforts to increase young children’s literacy.
- In households that don’t read enough to their kids, likely more than the 1 in 5 figure, digital book apps in particular can reach more families than ever with a product that feels cutting edge while delivering on most of the old-fashioned goals of reading.