Comments on: Caught my Eye: For Their Children, Many E-Book Fans Insist on Paper http://www.against-the-grain.com/2011/11/caught-my-eye-for-their-children-many-e-book-fans-insist-on-paper/ Linking librarians, publishers and vendors Sat, 18 May 2013 19:36:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Matthew Thomas http://www.against-the-grain.com/2011/11/caught-my-eye-for-their-children-many-e-book-fans-insist-on-paper/comment-page-1/#comment-39944 Matthew Thomas Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:03:38 +0000 http://www.against-the-grain.com/?p=8779#comment-39944 This makes perfect sense given the technology available currently. I'm not handing my iPad over to my 7 year old. I've seen the way he falls asleep on top of it at night. And he's got other things to do when he's using our desktop or laptop. We've also got a romantic idea about books and kids that doesn't pan out. We want to think that every book we buy for them is going to be influential and a favourite. But we know that's not true. They gravitate towards a few and the rest are garbage. Most children's books are fodder, valuable only as one more that has contributed to their ability to read, building vocabulary, or learning content. Only when tech is more kid-proof and we are less idealistic about the printed word will ebooks (or eliterature of some kind) be on the rise. This makes perfect sense given the technology available currently. I’m not handing my iPad over to my 7 year old. I’ve seen the way he falls asleep on top of it at night. And he’s got other things to do when he’s using our desktop or laptop.

We’ve also got a romantic idea about books and kids that doesn’t pan out. We want to think that every book we buy for them is going to be influential and a favourite. But we know that’s not true. They gravitate towards a few and the rest are garbage. Most children’s books are fodder, valuable only as one more that has contributed to their ability to read, building vocabulary, or learning content.

Only when tech is more kid-proof and we are less idealistic about the printed word will ebooks (or eliterature of some kind) be on the rise.

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