Introduction to the Edited Volume

Born into a digital world, today’s children spend more and more time with new media starting at an ever-younger age. While data show that games, YouTube videos, and television shows are children’s favorites and digital books are generally underutilized (Merga and Mat Roni 2017), the number of studies targeting digital books is growing. Books are seen as the bedrock of reading comprehension and language development and as such digital books attract researchers’ attention. The narration—a main source of information in (digital) books—includes sophisticated words and complex grammar, both of which are rare in films and television shows (e.g., Montag et al. 2015). This may explain why books are much more stimulating for language and literacy than alternatives such as YouTube videos and television shows.