My 10-year-old son's reading material for the week. Gotta love the public library.
What’s the future? Children’s Lit and the Digital Age
What’s next for children’s literature? We are zooming into the digital age. Technology keeps changing, and print media is quickly going digital. Is anybody out there nervous? Could we lose something with this change?
An article in Publishers Weekly addresses these questions and more: are publishers ready? What about piracy? How will rights be handled? Will libraries become obsolete?
The article summarizes a forum held by the Children’s Book Council on “The Current State of E: Publishing in the Digital Age.” One panelist states, “E-books add a fantastic functionality to what a book is. Adding interactivity to that experience is also very interesting. And thinking about ways they can be fun [is important], because it’s for children.”
There’s a lot of potential! What do you think?
Oasis
It is a beautiful summer day. My kids returned from swim practice this morning and starting to get into their “what-is-there-to-do” mode. I was delighted when my oldest daughter suggested spending some time at the library. A few minutes later, we were on our way.
My daughter (almost 15 years old) headed straight for the stacks with her list of recommended titles from her friend. I didn’t see her again until it was time to go home.
My nine year old son wandered into the children’s section and spotted a magician’s hat with a rabbit hanging from the drop ceiling. He’s been on a magic kick lately and wanted more books on how to perform magic tricks. He was a bit disappointed to find only one book on magic on the shelf.
He then moved on to Clifford the Big Red Dog. These are tried and true favorites of his and never seem to loose their appeal. He flopped down on the floor with a lap full of Clifford books and worked his way through all of them. Next on the list was Curious George. Despite having read all of these stories countless times, Curious George never fails to please, either.
Once he had paid tribute to his old friends, my son went on to browse the stacks. A few Where’s Waldo volumes caught his eye, as well as a large, dramatically illustrated book, Mayday! Mayday! about Coast Guard rescue. He enthusiastically proclaimed it his “favorite book [he] ever found at the library.”
I love to see my children absorbed in books, whether reading novels, classic picture books or scrutinizing the pages in an attempt to find Waldo. I hope they acquire a life-long love of books and reading, and many memories of whiling away a summer morning amongst the library stacks.
