Confession: I am an e-book addict. Since my son was born in 2017, I have not held a single paper book in my hands. Do I miss it? Oh, yes. The smell of the glue binding, the feel of the paper, the crisp swish when I turn the page…I used to be a staunch anti-technology kind of gal when it came to books though. I was a purist. It was the “real” thing or nothing at all. But after watching two of my favorites mildew away in the jungle, then having the choice between audiobooks or nothing while I worked in the cannabis community, and finally giving up paperbacks for good (ok, for now) since my son was born, I have to say I’m a convert.
But what about for my son?
The closer Leo gets to toddlerhood (and as the launch date for my children’s book approaches), I’ve felt the need to dig in and do some research on this one. I’m not opposed to screentime and e-books for children, but I want to know more about it. I want to know what’s best for our kids.
So what do the “experts” have to say? I have to admit I was surprised by what I found.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children tells us that aside from language development, the major function in children’s books is to ignite conversation with the adults in their lives.
This article on the NAEYC website discusses educational e-books that have special features such as embedded dictionaries and “clickability” on more difficult words to hear them pronounced. It claims the extra features can lead to expanded discussions and parents talking to their kids on a higher level.
“One might even say the educational e-book was teaching parents as much—maybe even more—as it was teaching kids.” – NAEYC
Another article, this one from Psychology Today counters that while parent-child pairs reading the educational e-book spend more time together reading the e-book than the print version, those who read the print version remembered the story better. All those educational features, while keeping the child engaged, can interrupt the story flow.
The focus needs to be on the “vital human interaction” that occurs during shared reading, not the bells and whistles of additional features. -Psychology Today
And a third article from ScienceDaily.com found that it didn’t seem to make a difference to the child whether they were reading print or digital, but what matters is how the parents interact with the device. Parents tended to point less to the e-book and talk less about its contents than they did with a traditional book.
“Remember that increased engagement does not always translate to increased learning.” – SciencyDaily.com
Feeling bolstered by the experts’ opinions, I got on Facebook and asked my friends and family what their opinions were, expecting a wave of praise for these educational e-books. Again, I was surprised. Overwhelmingly, my friends and family prefer print.
Those who don’t frequently travel internationally were 100% in the print camp, even if their kids just love all things electronic. The ones that do travel a lot do use e-books but use the Libby app to download them from a local library or they buy “I Can Read” highly portable storybooks that are very thin, lightweight paperbacks.
Even if print is preferred, it’s interesting to learn about what options are available to me as a bilingual children’s book author. Clickable words pronounced in either language on demand, brief mini-lessons that talk about cultural context and words or concepts that just don’t translate…
The interactive features in a bilingual educational e-book, could clear up massive obstacles when it comes to bilingual learning.
Parents all over the US claim that their biggest holdup in teaching their kids another language is their own lack of knowledge and confidence. A bilingual educational e-book could change that. And that possibility is pretty exciting.
In the end, an e-book is like its technological cousin social media. It’s a tool, a tool with a lot of potential. If we choose to use them wisely, our kids have a fun new way to learn and we might have just as much of an opportunity to learn as they do. Learning together is growing together.
Want some inspo for what to read next? My book rec section is coming soon! Inthe meantime, sign up for the newsletter to get the monthly lowdown on the best books I’ve read for both kids (usually 5-10 featured books) and adults (5-7 books, fiction and nonfiction).
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