Books vs Video Games

It is a constant and unfortunate truth, that most of the children I work with prefer video games to books.  Books are low tech, they don’t talk back to you, they aren’t wifi ready, and they’re usually non-competitive.  So how do we make books as exciting for our kids as a video game?  We have to create reading experiences that are interactive.  Whenever or whatever we are reading with our children, we should ask questions, make predictions and laugh at the funny parts.  The most effective way to do this is at the turn of the page.  Ask, “What’s going to happen next?”  “Why’d he do that?”  “Will Pigeon share his hotdog?”  Reading engagement happens in the brain; it’s not visible and it’s not always innate.  We have to model our thinking for our kids, because good readers make meaning as they read.

While we can talk with kids about any book, some books are more interactive than others.  Rhyming and pattern books are perfect examples.  I love Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood.  “I’m as quick as a cricket.  I’m as slow as a snail.  I’m as small as an ant.” Stop here.  Don’t turn the page yet.  Say, “I’m as  . . .” and let the kids predict the opposite and the rhyming word – “I’m as big as a whale.”  Lift the flaps books are also excellent choices for little kids, like Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.  A child writes a letter to the zoo asking for a pet.  We can predict what animal arrives based on the size of the box and the preceding text. 

My niece received a great book for Christmas, and it wasn’t even from me.  I gave her princess books, but her Uncle Tom gave her Press Here by Herve Tullet.  Each page has an instruction, like “Press the yellow dot.”  The next page shows the effect of following that instruction – the yellow dot turns blue.  Bella literally jumped up and down while I was reading it to her, because she was so excited to see what would happen next.  Upon finishing, we had to immediately start it again.  Books written with second person narration, like Mo Willems Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and If You Decide to Go to the Moon, also make kids think they are part of the story. 

For bigger kids, interactivity becomes more challenging, but Choose Your Own Adventures have been around for ages.  And kids still love them.  The more high tech version is The 39 Clues series.  Each book is written by a different, famous author and each comes with 6 playing cards that help kids figure out the clues.  The website allows fans of the books to search for clues along with the main characters, Amy and Dan.  Book series and author websites are becoming part of social media, as authors ask fans for plot suggestions and input on upcoming texts.  I hope books never become completely obsolete, but as the line between books and video games narrows, we have to remember that reading is reading no matter the format. 

 

Interactive Books

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

If You Decide to go to the Moon by Faith Mcnulty

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Where is Baby’s Belly Button by Karen Katz

Where’s Spot by Eric Hill

Press Here by Herve Tullet

The Dinosaur Museum by Sebastian Quigley

Choose Your Own Adventure by R. A. Montgomery

The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan and others

The Amanda Project by Amanda Valentino (This is a Young Adult series)