Rarest Kind of Best

Well this is encouraging. I’ve jumped into the virtual world of gadgets for an awful lot of things, but I still can’t let go of real books, especially not for reading with kids. And now there’s a study that finds a whole lot of other parents feel the same way I do.

(I particularly like the Dad who says he reads paper books so his kids will know that he’s reading and not just updating his facebook!)

A real big colourful picture book still delivers a bigger sensory punch than the same thing on a screen. Imagine a very young toddler gazing at the pictures, flipping pages, holding the book and turning it all around to admire it, even gnawing a little on the corner… All good exploratory fun and vital in forming a concept in their minds of what a book is.

At that age all those lovely board books are actually toys, sensory toys! Especially pop-up books. A screen can’t deliver that kind of excitement!

Not to mention the thrill of walking into a library, with shelves and shelves and shelves of books. Even the tiny library my home town had simply filled me with awe at the vastness of its reserves. I don’t think scrolling through an ebook catalogue will ever give you that feeling.

It’s just nice to go out in the world and encounter books there.