A recent newspaper article about books going digital led me to a blog by Alana Semuels. That books are being digitized is not new, of course, but that publishers are looking keenly at digitized books for young readers is.

In addition to large publishing houses exploring eBooks in a serious way, there are businesses like Tumblebooks that provide books from print publishers online (and a host of activities — for a fee).

There is also the International Children’s Digital Library, a research (though much more) and very user friendly project from the University of Maryland College Park.

Digitization of books for children makes sense. Even the youngest child is exposed to new technologies everywhere, everyday it seems. It is simply ubiquitous — though digital books are not necessarily so.

But publishers — who are having a tough go of it — may be overly excited about eBooks taking over from traditional books. Book sales have fallen (probably not dissimilar to just about every other business in today’s economy) — and like other businesses, publishers seem to be looking for the next big thing.

The possibilities for digital books are indeed huge but there’s also danger in letting go of the old before the new is really replaceable.

While reading is learned individually and reader response is intensely personal, it seems to me that books build communities: communities of learners, communities around shared experiences, communities built on common interests.

What happens to the personal bond between the author/illustrator and reader when a device is put between them? And by device I mean sound, movement — a different interpretation of word and image so that it’s no longer up to the reader (including the reader of images) to pull meaning, cull story, feel emotion. Are communities of readers and thinkers built using these devices?

Maybe these are moot questions but it seems to me that they — and a host of other questions — are worth thinking about.

About the Author

Reading Rockets’ children’s literature expert, Maria Salvadore, brings you into her world as she explores the best ways to use kids’ books both inside — and outside — of the classroom.

Publication Date
January 6, 2009
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