Print Vs. Digital – Is the ebook not a ‘proper’ book?
I have been reading articles, blog posts and chatter on Twitter about print books vs. ebooks a lot lately. In the market for children’s books, the rapid cultural shift from print to digital book apps in particular seems to have turned the world on edge. Authors, illustrators, publishers and now developers have a lot to say about this transition. Some seem to think it is a miracle, others fear it is the end of reading as we know it.
I suspect both points of view are right in some ways. From the perspective of cultural change, the fear that ‘reading as we know it’ is over would be accurate, but only because life as we know it is always ending – it always has been and it always will be – that is the nature of the human condition. We do not live in a static cultural environment. It’s an environment that is more akin to a river than a pond. The technological changes in children’s picture books sometimes feel like the cultural equivalent of white water rapids, though. But what parent would send their child downstream alone? As an adult these changes can feel threatening, foreign and even unnecessary. But as a parent, it feels like an imperative to find a good raft that will hold both children and adults safely. Staying on the shore does not feel like an option.
I can remember reading ‘choose your own adventure’ books as a pre-teen in the 1980′s and over-hearing an adult ‘tsk tsk’ at the idea that it was a ‘real’ book or even qualified as ‘reading’. I also know that the introduction of interactive book apps has a ‘miraculous’ feel – at least at first. Watching my child spontaneously begin to read after so many books with text highlighting as it is narrated feels pretty miraculous. But I also understand the fear and concern expressed by those who say an ebook app is not ‘real’ reading material or not ‘proper’ or even that it is not good for literacy.
At times my child has been unable to focus on the storytelling in some of the book apps I have reviewed at Digital Storytime because of excessive ‘features‘. The selection of book apps is growing fast, though. As someone who has reviewed almost 150 children’s book apps (and previewed hundreds more), I think young readers can get many of the same benefits from digital books that they gain from reading print editions. In my opinion, anyone who feels that “an app book is more app than book”, simply hasn’t looked at the market deeply enough – there is a lot of variety out there.
But these ebooks are a complement, not a replacement to the print books I share with my child. I think this is how most children are experiencing the digital revolution in the books they read and have read to them. I have not yet met a single parent who has replaced print books wholesale with digital publications. As with most cultural battles, those of us in the real world know it is not an either/or situation but one of balance. We have new choices to navigate, but that also brings new ways to inspire a love of reading in another generation.
There are always downsides to cultural change. But instead of resisting change, we need to compensate for it by being thoughtful and engaged in the process. The effects of technological ‘revolutions’ in the past, like radio, television and the internet, have not been universally good changes for our communities, families or society in general. But with the exception of a few isolated cultural groups (e.g. Amish), most of us will move forward into the new cultural landscape, even if it takes longer for some of us to adjust to it than others.
This doesn’t mean the important benefits of print reading can be delivered by ebooks automatically, just because there are still words on a page. The essence of the reading experiences I grew up with cannot be ‘scanned’ into digital form like the text can be. Being interactive, narrated or even animated is part of the challenge, certainly, but even the lack of a more tactile experience changes how we interact with these new books. So we will have to invent new ways to interact with our new and very real books. Like generations before us, we will adjust to our new reality.
I think this is an enormously interesting and important conversation. In fact, it is gratifying to see so much attention paid to children’s books in general. When was the last time our culture put the children’s book at the center of our conversation? If things hadn’t begun to change so dramatically in the last year in particular, I wouldn’t even be thinking about this topic, let alone writing about it. The rapid change has ‘woken’ me up to thinking more deeply about the learning process for my child, myself, and the other children I have educated over the years.
I may be a digital immigrant with a digitally native child on my hands, but I find the opportunity to explore this new cultural landscape more exciting than scary. I am also grateful for the opportunities the digital revolution has given me to connect with others. There are conversations and debates going on today with a scope and scale I could not have imagined even a few years ago. My excitement wins out over my fear in large part because of the community of amazing individuals I’ve met through conversations on Twitter, email, Facebook and other ‘techie’ ways of re-connecting. This follows years of having digital technology produce mostly isolation from others. The ‘digital age’ may be a new challenge, but it is one we do not have to face alone.
The following articles inspired this post – in addition to Twitter discussions about these articles and #tocbologna (Tools of Change – Digital Book Conference/Bologna, Italy):
NPR: Children’s Book Apps – A New World of Learning
The Washington Post: Must we have the digital vs. print battle?
Wonder of Children Blog: Digital Versus Print: Encouraging Literacy is a Balance
Keeps Me Smiling Blog: Why I (Still) Love Print Books
Category: 100+ Reviews ... What I've Learned So Far, All About Apps
Good blog post, Carisa! I totally agree that digital books won’t replace print books for kids. When our kids were young, we’d take weekly trips to the library and come back with foot-tall stacks of picture books to read to them. If we had young kids now, we’d do the same, as well as download an occasional app to share as well. Maybe at some point we’ll be able to check out a “stack” of iPad apps at the library, and return them after a week, but in the meantime, I’d say a healthy mix is 10 parts book to 1 part app.
Great Post! I totally agree. The Story, or content, is what’s most important, not the format in which it’s delivered. Indeed, the real choice these days is not print vs digital. Both have a place. But whether the content in either format is worth offering to your child and when.
Delighted to have found your blog! I will be back!
Sarah
Carisa I think you have some excellent points and I’m so glad you wrote about this! It’s such a “controversial” topic right now and I for one see it as nothing but a positive thing going forward. I absolutely agree that there is a place for both print & digital in the market currently, whether that will remain so is yet to be seen. I think the future is going to be an incredible ride and I’m certain that with people like you around (as well as many others) that literacy will absolutely not get left in the dust. It’s too important. And when my 2 year old daughter can navigate my iPhone & home computer without a problem I know there’s no way things can remain the same. Moving forward with a positive but realistic outlook is always the best! I cannot wait to see how things change, it’s going to be spectacular!
Hi Carisa,
Thanks for the interesting article. As a parent to a young child and author of a storybook app, I feel both books and apps have a place in the learning process. Quality eBooks are just another way to make reading and learning even more enjoyable. They shouldn’t replace books, but add to the whole experience! Thanks for the good perspective on their important role!
Thank you for a very refreshing and well thought out article.
“In my opinion, anyone who feels that “an app book is more app than book”, simply hasn’t looked at the market deeply enough – there is a lot of variety out there.
But these ebooks are a complement, not a replacement to the print books I share with my child.” pretty much summed it up for me.
I have many eBooks on my iPad for my grandchildren, but I have many more on my bookshelf. We share both curled up in Nana’ “booknook” and I treasure the time as they experience and learn.
Digital devices and apps for iPads are the wave of the future, and anyone that does not accept that will be washed away in their wave instead of being swept up in their content.
Excellent post Carisa. Very thought provoking. As the mother of a dyslexic son, I’m excited that he will choose book apps over game apps when he’s on the iPad. Good story will win out regardless of format!
Carissa,
I thought I had written a response to this post ages ago, but since the NY Times has now published a ridiculous opinion article on this discussion, I just wanted to point out that I too find this war against book apps is absurd. I’m not going to rebate point by point that NY Times one, but you can read my posts on Forget the Discussion of Print Books vs. Book Apps, which offers arguments in favor of each, in: http://www.curatingbookappmom.com/2011/10/part-ii-of-forget-discussion-on-book.html
Your retweet of this was timely.
Curating Book App Mom
I’ve been illustrating children’s books for over 20 years and can’t wait to bring my creativity to the world of ebooks. I’ve been talking with lots of new companies and the possibilities are tremendously exciting.