Books on tape offer many features that make them more interesting to children. The narrator's voice, sound effects, background noise and different characters' voices can make a story come alive. In her article "Audiobooks for Children: Is This Really Reading? " Ruth Cox Clark writes that books on tape also present some disadvantages, particularly for visual learners and children who require more time to reflect upon and review information.
Considerations
Clark points out that audio books cannot take the place of educators and parents reading a book with children. Books on tape address children's listening skills, while reading a book together, particularly in a small-group or individual setting, boosts prereading skills.
Expert Insight
The International Reading Association's guide to using audio books to promote critical learning skills delineates the tools teachers and parents use when reading with young children that audio books do not offer. Adults underscore dramatic parts of the text with gestures and facial expressions. They repeat key information. They stop to allow children to comment on the text and pictures. They pause to ask questions and promote discussion. They pace reading to suit the individual child or group's needs.
Identification
Denise Johnson, assistant professor of reading education at Virginia's College of William & Mary, who has worked in literacy education and reading recovery programs points out that, though she enjoys audio books, they do not suit every student. Some students get distracted by the narrator's voice or the by the technology required to present the audio book.
Prevention/Solution
Teachers, parents, children's librarians and day care providers find another problem with audio books. They tend to cost more than their print counterparts. Many schools and small libraries do not have a budget to carry a diverse selection of children's books on tape, and cannot keep current with new titles. However, larger school libraries may be able to carry core titles that complement each grade's reading curriculum, and allow teachers to check out those audio books in rotation.
Potential
A Puffin Books guide to reading with young children asserts that audio books cannot replicate the highly personal experience of reading and storytelling with children. Children not only learn to read during these sessions, but they also develop relationships with parents and educators. Listening to audio books tends to be a solitary, more anonymous experience.
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