Printbooksmaybeundersiegefromtheriseofe-books,buttheyhaveatenaciousholdonaparticulargroup:childrenandtoddlers.Theirparentsareinsistingthisnextgenerationofreadersspendtheirearlyyearswithold-fashionedbooks.Thisisthecaseevenwithparentswhothemselvesaredie-harddownloadersofbooksontoKindles,iPads,laptopsandphones.Theyfreelyacknowledgetheirdigitaldoublestandard,sayingtheywanttheirchildrentobesurroundedbyprintbooks,toexperienceturningphysicalpagesastheylearnaboutshapes,colorsandanimals.Parentsalsosaytheylikecuddlingupwiththeirchildandabook,andfearthatashinygadgetmightgetalltheattention.Also,iflittleJoeyisgoingtospitup,abookmaybeeasiertocleanthanatabletcomputer. Astheadultbookworldturnsdigitalatafasterratethanpublishersexpected,salesofe-booksfortitlesaimedatchildrenunder8havebarelybudged.Theyrepresentlessthan5percentoftotalannualsalesofchildren’sbooks,severalpublishersestimated,comparedwithmorethan25percentinsomecategoriesofadultbooks. Manyprintbooksareboughtasgifts,sincethedelightsofanAmazongiftcardarelostonmost6-year-olds.Children’sbooksarealsoabrightspotforbrick-and-mortarbookstores,sinceparentsoftenwanttoflipthroughanentirebookbeforebuyingit,somethingtheyusuallycannotdowithe-bookbrowsing.AstudycommissionedbyHarperCollinsin2010foundthatbooksboughtfor3-to7-year-oldswerefrequentlydiscoveredatalocalbookstore—38percentofthetime. Andhereisaquestionforadigitaleradebate:isanythinglostbytakingapicturebookandconvertingittoane-book?JunkoYokota,aprofessoranddirectoroftheCenterforTeachingThroughChildren’sBooksatNationalLouisUniversityinChicago,thinkstheanswerisyes,becausetheshapeandsizeofthebookareoftenpartofthereadingexperience.Widerpagesmightbeusedtoconveybroadlandscapes,oratallerformatmightbechosenforstoriesaboutskyscrapers.Sizeandshape“becomepartoftheemotionalexperience,theintellectualexperience.There’salotyoucan’tstandardizeandstickintoanelectronicformat,”saidMs.Yokota,whohaslecturedonhowtodecidewhenachild’sbookisbestsuitedfordigitalorprintformat. Publisherssaytheyaregraduallyincreasingthenumberofprintpicturebooksthattheyareconvertingtodigitalformat,eventhoughitistime—consumingandexpensive,anddevelopershavebeenbusycreatinginteractivechildren’sbookapps.WhiletheentryofnewtabletdevicesfromBarnes&NobleandAmazonthisfallisexpectedtoincreasethedemandforchildren’se-books,severalpublisherssaidtheysuspectedthatmanyparentswouldstillprefertheprintversions. “There’sdefinitelyapredispositiontoprint,”saidJonYaged,presidentandpublisherofMacmillanChildren’sPublishingGroup.“Andtheparentsarethesamefolkswhowillhavenoqualmsaboutbuyingane-bookforthemselves,”headded. ThatistheeaseinthehomeofAriWallach,atech-obsessedNewYorkentrepreneurwhohelpscompaniesupdatetheirtechnology.HehimselfreadsonKindle,iPadandiPhone,buttheroomofhistwingirlsispackedwithonlyprintbooks.“IknowI’maLudditeonthis,butthere’ssomethingverypersonalaboutabookandnotoneofonethousandfilesonaniPad,somethingthat’sconnectedandemotional,somethingIgrewupwithandthatlwantthemtogrowupwith,”hesaid.“Irecognizethatwhentheyaremyage,it’llbedifficulttofinda’dead-treebook,”headded.“Thatbeingsaid,Ifeelthatlearningwithbooksisasimportantariteofpassageaslearningtoeatwithutensilsandbeingpotty-trained.” Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingisNOTmentionedasthereasonsforparents’preferencetoprintbooks?
A.They want their children to experience turning physical pages as they learn about shapes, colors and animals. B.They like cuddling up with their child and a book, and fear that a shiny gadget might get all the attention. C.Children enjoy reading print books compared with digital versions. D.Print books are easier to clean than electronic devices.正确答案C
