What I really enjoyed in Paul’s article, was an insert in praise of books. She makes some clear points about why it not time to throw about the physical books in favour of the virtual books:
In Praise of Print
Given the focus on ebooks these days, could old-fashioned print books provide a superior reading experience? Actually, yes – especially for young children whose literacy skills are just beginning to emerge. Here are eight reasons to keep recommending traditional books:
- No need to make choices. Lacking hyperlinks, paper books enable total immersion in reading – no need to continually pause and ask, “Should I click on this?
- No distractions within the text. Research suggests that the visual and aural gimmicks and game-like features embedded in many kids’ ebooks draw young readers’ attention from the written words, diminishing their memory of what was read.
- No internet temptations. The only think you can do with a paper book is read it, while web-enabled ereaders, the temptations of the internet are a click away.
- Imagination required. Without the bells and whistles of ebooks, young readers must mobilize their own imaginations to fill in the gaps left by authors and illustrators; what a character looks like, for example, or the sound an animal makes.
- Satisfaction of the senses. The smooth feel of paper and the rich colours of illustrations are largely lost in ebook reproductions. The distinctiveness of the reading experience is reduced, as well – such as when an oversized picture book is squeezed down to the size of an ereader screen.
- Literary attitudes. Children accustomed to using digital devices for fast-paced entertainment may approach an ereader with the same expectations, while a printed book comes with an entirely different set of associations: a quiet focus on words and stories.
- Easy to share. A printed book lends itself to being shared by children and adults, while an ebook may not be shared quite so easily.
- Strong selection. The number of quality children’s books published in paper still vastly outnumbers those available in a digital format.
School Library Journal, July 2014