Comments on: Do kids need ‘shelves and dust’ to benefit fully from ‘books’? NYT columnist skeptical about e-books—even if she owns a Kindle

By: Peter Laudenslager

Peter Laudenslager — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:15:41 +0000

I think that reading is reading, and there is no biological imperative to read from paper and cardboard. I personally have some emotional attachment to paper books, and really like leather-bound books, but I suspect that this is just because I was raised with the former, and associate wealth and success with the later.

My kids are equally happy watching cable programming on the TV, or YouTube on the computer – they don’t confuse the box with the content. So I don’t think physical books are critical to literacy or a love of reading.

On the other hand, I grew up in homes with publicly displayed bookshelves, and began my own habit of reading by plucking interesting titles from my parent’s collection. I wonder how much subconscious impact I got from just walking past those shelves every day? Would I be different if my parents owned the same number of books, but kept them in boxes in the garage? Does the Kindle make reading less discoverable to a new reader? Of if a young person starts a book on the Kindle, do they feel more liberated by the built-in library?

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:25:46 +0000

Hi, Christine. Both P and E books are great for kids, and yes, the Kindle would be broken quickly–perhaps within 15 minutes. On the other hand, the OLPC machine is more rugged. Besides, the main idea is for the mother to READ to the child from the machine so he or she associates it with the joys of reading.

Thanks,
David

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:29:48 +0000

I am a fan of reading fiction ebooks, but I think that:
First, if I gave a child a cybook to read on, it’d be broken within the hour; and
Second, a child needs (or at least will be more interested in and receive more benefit from) large colorful pictures and the tactile experience of sorting through books, turning pages, etc.

Actually it kind of scares me to think of a child never seeing a real book and only knowing books via electronic screens, although I’m not sure exactly why. It just doesn’t seem right.