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.” Whichofthefollowingcanbestdescribethepublishers’opinion?
A.They will convert more picture books to digital format because of the increased demand for children’s e-books
B.They will increase the number of print picture books because many parents want their children to be surrounded by print books.
C.Print books are reduced to gift.
D.Parents would change their reading habits due to their concern for their children.
正确答案是B