Recently eBooks joined the ranks of Little Heroes personalized children's books, placing us in the forefront of the children's publishing industry.  Everything you can get in hard copy, you can now enjoy online!

So why do it?  The reality is that interest in eReading is growing rapidly, with eBook sales achieving triple digit growth in the last year alone.  Without doubt, they offer a host of conveniences, primarily in portability and cost, which makes them particularly popular amongst commuters, vacationers and business people alike.

Libraries, such as Park Ridge Public Library in Chicago, are also starting to offer online eBooks services over the Web to their users.  Users can download the latest bestsellers, which are 'returned' automatically once read.  In fact, one New England school library has gone so far as to remove all its old hard copy books and replace them with only eBooks.  Students now use eReaders, large flat screen TVs or their laptops to browse through the books they want. Sound far-fetched?  Perhaps, but it's happening.

A Happy Medium Between Technology and Kids

Kids of today are increasingly tech savvy, showing an ease with all items electronic, which many of us have taken years (if not still trying) to achieve. While some of us may balk at reading a book online, many children are quite happy to read off a laptop, eReader or mobile device such as an iPhone. Technology has become almost second nature to them.

Sites dedicated to offering eBooks online are proliferating.  Disney recently launched an online eBook library offering of over 500 books, including Winnie the Pooh and Hanna Montana, for a monthly subscription.  As did Electronic Arts' new partnership with Nintendo, FLIPS, which brings a host of children's classics, such as Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series, to life on screen.

eBooks offer a few advantages:

• Read here, there or anywhere.  If on vacation or stuck in a long wait somewhere, you can pull up a book for you or your child to read without ever having to lug that book around with you.
• Its much cheaper.  Most eBooks, including ours, don't cost more than $10, which in a tight economy like today, means your reading habit doesn't have to suffer.
• Immediate satisfaction.  Lets admit, patience is not always a child's best virtue.  So waiting two to four weeks for their new personalised book to arrive, can be somewhat frustrating.  Buying an eBook however, means an immediate download ready for you to enjoy.
• Technological novelty. Kids today like working with electronic devices and the sheer novelty of reading online may encourage them to read more often.

A Matter of Preference

Perhaps I am a bit of a traditionalist, but I can't help but wonder what this all means for the future of children's and books in general.  Personally, I still like the tactile experience of turning the pages of a physical book.  There is an intimacy created, whether reading alone, snuggled up in bed, or sharing it with your child. This, in my opinion, often trumps the convenience of the electronic format.  It just seems more of an escape or quiet time when there's no computer or electronic device involved.

There is also much to be said about the font, type layout and illustrations used in a book, which can change the way you interpret the story.  Many eReaders render books to lines of same styled text and layout, losing the careful nuances of the hard copy sibling.  The good news is that our Little Heroes eBooks maintain the same look and feel as its personalized hard copy counterparts, so there's no loss there!

Eye fatigue from looking at a screen for a long time is also another practical consideration for long spells of eReading.  But this is unlikely to affect younger children, whose books seldom run into multiple chapters. 

The answer is probably a mix of both.  Some books by nature, such as toddlers' touch-and-feel and kids' colouring-in books, are difficult to replace.  But others, like the latest best sellers or reference books, will likely depend on the person and the situation at hand.

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