More than E-book vs. Print: The Concept of ‘Media Mentors’

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We often get stuck on the pros and cons of e-books, especially when it comes to early literacy.

Print books offer beautiful illustrations and enable children to touch and feel the weight of the paper as they turn the pages. Devoid of backlit screens, they are easier on the eyes. Plus, they come with no distractions. “It is the book, not the e-book, that invites and sustains parent-child interaction and the personal and intimate experience of sharing and talking through reading,” argues Kathy Kleckner of the Children’s Library of Minnesota. “Books need us.“ Ebooks have the benefit of interactive features, audio read-alouds and narrative questions built into their very pages, not to mention the ability to be stored en mass and clicked open anywhere at anytime. “Such tools can support and enhance adults’ role in supporting development of the whole child,” write Maryanne Martens and Dorothy Stoltz, librarians on the board of LittleELit, a website run by librarians who examine children’s apps and ebooks. Just because a book is in print, doesn’t mean that it’s of higher quality. Print books, the authors argue, can just as easily feature “poor writing and mediocre illustrations that often function as promotional material for other branded merchandise.”


More than E-book vs. Print: The Concept of ‘Media Mentors’