We are a family who like gadgets & new technology but there is one area I’ve been slow to take up & that’s ebooks.

Most of the children’s books in our house are on low shelves or in boxes so the children can help themselves to whatever they like whenever they like. (The only exception to this is some pop up books which I can’t bear too see destroyed by little fingers). If they want an ebook however, they have to come and ask us.

I recently borrowed a picture book using our local library’s ebook service & decided to read it to the children as one of their bedtime stories. This experience felt pretty flat. The book on the iPad it was smaller than the average picture book & it was difficult to pour over the pictures & point to all the things we spotted, as when they touched the screen it prompted an action such as turning the page or defining a word. We have had more success with ebook apps which are often more thoughtfully designed, such as Nosy Crows Red Riding Hood but this still suffers from the drawback that this is something the kids have to request.

I have no doubt that as they get older they will be reading more ebooks & with the current creative innovations in technology I can imagine there will be huge changes to the reading experience, as we have already seen with ebook apps.

But right now while I still have influence we shall stick mainly with print I like the feel of a book in my hands, I like the walls covered in bookshelves with the spines offering a picture of our lives & I like that quiet moment with the children when we are all caught up in the pages of our favourite book.