Reading Builds All Kinds of Muscles—including Brains

We are delighted to feature a blog post by Chance Hunt, Director, Public Programming and Partnerships at The Seattle Public Library, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

Librarians are often asked to choose a favorite—print books or e-books? In reality there is not a debate—both technologies have their advantages (no more lugging stacks of books through the airport!), and both tools can contribute to the healthy development of young children. But how many of you got new e-readers this past holiday season? And how many of you are also wondering if e-books are a good choice for your children?

In a recent New York Times article about e-readers and kids, Junko Yokota, a professor and director of the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books, offered that the size and shape of a book “become part of the emotional experience, the intellectual experience. There’s a lot you can’t standardize and stick into an electronic format.” From her research, one could suggest that the convenience of e-readers reduces the benefits of the overall reading experience for young children. Think about it. When you cuddle up to read a children’s picture book, there is much more going on than telling a story. You and your child turn pages; you and your child manage the shape and size of the book (we always preferred the little chubby board books in our house). It involves touching, tasting, and sometimes tearing the story printed in the book. Print book technology offers a child a multi-sensory experience, and this in turn builds their tiny muscles (and growing brains), especially when repeated multiple times (as in, every day). One more bonus: printed books, especially when strewn about the house, create a print-rich environment for your children.

So, the next time you read with your child or pick up dozens of books (as we often do in the library) know that you are building muscles—one book, and one story, at a time.

Contributed by Chance Hunt, The Seattle Public Library