<— That extremely cool decoder ring …
… has no relevance to this post.
I simply love it and had to share (thanks to Cynthia Reese).
I’ve talked before about the impending e-pocalypse, which some publishers and writers seem to think is the end-of-publishing, and have stated my hearty opinion that young people will lead the way with this e-revolution in books.
But it appears that even my rabid optimism wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the changing world. I was recently approached by a representative of Sesame Street’s e-bookstore, wanting to place advertising on Ink Spells, and have Ink Spells become an affilliate promoting their e-books. While I have nothing against advertising, it didn’t fit with Ink Spells mission and so I declined. I was fascinated, however, by this innovation in children’s books. With the tag-line “Elmo loves his e-books!” here is Sesame Street leveraging their brand to get children to read on the computer. While some might object to more screen time for wee ones, I think any time children are reading, it’s a good thing. For those who think that e-books are a passing fad, I give you the future: children raised on e-picture-books.
Then, along comes Random House with what I consider to be the true opening salvo in the children’s e-book revolution: Magic Tree House e-books. For those of you who don’t know about the Magic Tree House series, it’s a beloved children’s chapter book series (70 million copies sold). We own all 43 titles and have read them multiple times through all three of my boys. That these books – the quintessential children’s paper book – have been released in e-book format says that someone at Random House believes that children will soon be taking their first steps into chapter books on nooks, iPads, Kindles or computers.
The argument I’ve heard against children’s e-books has primarily been that parents won’t buy e-readers for their children – they are too expensive, or too delicate, and parents will be too afraid that children will damage them. This argument doesn’t carry much water for me: kids handle all kinds of electronic devices every day.
If they can handle this:
I share mine but he loses interest in 5 minutes because it's black and white. He does love comic books on his PSP though. Still, he totes around a bag of real books wherever we go. I'm thinking it's just another "toy" in a childs mind and books will still be books.
My daughter just got a Nook for her high school graduation. She'll take it to college with her and it will certainly lighten her load with the # of text books she has to carry around. My 12 year old, my other true reader, has read from my Kindle for a book club he was participating in. To a reader, a story's a story no matter the format.
Yes, I would share. The more avenues that books can be delivered, the better. I don't really think one style will nudge out another, at least not yet. So, the more books, the more options, and hopefully, the more readers!
@Leah Could comic books be the next big thing on e-readers – a lot of comics are already online, probably just waiting for a reader like iPad that can handle them. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. (I love that he totes around the bag-o-books!)
@Kai What a great graduation present! I think textbooks online are also a HUGE potential future market. And your 12yo is in a book club? Awesome. 🙂
@Joanne I think paper will always have a place, but the e-books are coming on strong. It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, as you say. 🙂
I would buy my kid an e-reader in a heartbeat is she asked. I mean, the kid is already waaaay more techincally savy than me, so why not?
I think schools will eventually switch over (it would save them TONS of money in the long run), then it will be a hit with kids and then the e-publishing will take of any more. That's just my rambling thought, though.
~JD
Thanks for sharing this. I'll now follow this blog, which I found via my regular no-spam-just-ebooks twitter search, via networked blogs on Facebook. Oh the wonders of web 2.0 e-reading. 🙂
(While I read on the Blackberry and the PC sometimes, I read on the Palm Tungsten very often and my whiz-kid daughters (6+10) start to borrow it to read from it, so while they love reading on paper, esp. for graphic novels, the grow up e-reading as well (and learned e-spelling on the sesame street and winnie the pooh websites).
Good grief, is there really a way to keep your kids from anything you own? LOL. Sure, I'd allow my kids to use mine–although I still don't own one yet.
You made a great point. If they (we) can spend xyz on a DS, we surely can spend it on a device that will enhance our kids reading. (I'm still a sucker for paper in my hands, though.)
@Justine You are spot on with the schools – beyond the initial investment, I think they would save tons in costs of paper books that they have to keep replacing (and I speak from experience on this, being on a school board). The tech isn't quite there yet, but as soon as the price on an iPad-like-device drops, I expect to see it run rampant.
@irascignavojo You get the prize for the most unusual moniker! I'm going to have to check that out…And the Web2.0 is amazing, isn't it? I've just recently gotten sucked into the wonder that is Twitter. Yay for the kiddos, following their tech-savvy-parent (instead of the other way around!). 🙂
@Sheri Good point about keeping things from the kids – they are always snitching my stuff!! And I love the way you put it – what's more important: games or reading? I'm a fan of making the reading happen, no matter which way works best (paper or e-ink)!
I'm wondering how all of this technology at early ages is impacting brain development. There was a recent NY Times article about this (sorry I don't have the cite). I am remembering from some reading awhile back that early introduction to technology hampers the development of certain key brain synapses. Does anyone have light to shed on this?
@Kirby I've seen studies that say "no videos before age 2" and others citing an excessive amount of "screen time" with attention deficit issues. But I'm not sure reading books on a nook would qualify as "screen time." But your point is well taken – all of this new technology is probably affecting all of us in ways that we don't (and won't) understand for years to come.
My son would LOVE e-books, he's got a natural affinity for computers/electronics. However, I doubt there will be anything offered to suit his tastes. What other 6 year old reads a car's driving manual? Or the Wii Operating manual? Yup, that's my son. hahaha
@Vicki Your son and my Worm Burner need to get together and start a multinational corporation, I mean, have a playdate. 🙂
p.s. Worm Burner found features I didn't know I had in my nook in about 30 seconds flat.
"The argument I've heard against children's e-books has primarily been that parents won't buy e-readers for their children – they are too expensive, or too delicate, and parents will be too afraid that children will damage them."
Based on purely anecdotal evidence, that's nonsense. While we were in America, every friend of ours who has kids (and there are a lot) had an iPod Touch to entertain those kids. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have their kids reading on the iPods instead of playing games or watching movies.
@Adam Exactly! 🙂
My 7-year-old daughter was reading my Kindle today! And she's been begging for an iPad since it's half the price of a new Mac laptop. Smart child…
you did a good job..................................................
I would if I had one.
@Sherrie You can't get anything past these little ones …
@Myrna If you're in the market, here's some reviews. This fascinating article says it's crazy to make predictions but they're talking a minimum of 10 million e-reader purchases a year! All those people are going to want something to read (I think this can only be a good thing).
Ooooohhh while reading this post I just had this vision of my 9 year old reluctant reader getting a color e-reader with Magic Tree house type stories that would reward each page or chapter read with a little video or interactive game – oh I'm drooling. My daughter would LOVE THAT! (I wonder if there are computer games like this already that I don't know about? – maybe an advanced sort of LeapPad?) of course the tricky part would be figuring out how to test that the child actually read the stuff without it appearing too much like a test. Or how about those books that let kids choose which way a character responds, plots that could go different ways? I know they used to have books like that, haven't seen them in years, but those would be so well suited for e-books. Thanks for getting my brain all kinds of excited for my kids
@Margo There's a fantastic post on e-readers and reluctant readers that I just stumbled across – I think I'll blog about it next week, but here it is, if you want to check it out.