It sounds obvious enough – the future of reading depends on future readers, who are also today’s children. “All of us recognize the responsibility we have to the development of kids’ minds by ensuring that they’re readers,” says Debby Kovacs. An author, publisher, and film studio executive, she believes reading is about more than the book at hand. Kids “need to do the mental gymnastics … when you’re following a story in your imagination. It’s just extremely important to their development and to their growth and to their future as humans.”
Recorded at the 2008 BookExpo America, this special “Beyond the Book” program featured panelists from publishing, academia, and the library community who explored how social networking, online programming, and related technology are poised to become saviors of printed word.
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