Lisa Guernsey - Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens

In the complex field of kids media, Lisa Guernsey and Michael Levine have written an important and digestible book filled with key insights, cutting-edge research, and suggestions that all parents should heed. As someone who's immersed in this world, I can't think of two better people to shed light on interactive technology and digital learning. Tap, Click, Read is a must-read for all parents, teachers, and those who care about kids.

James P. Steyer, founder and CEO, Common Sense Media

A thoughtful look beneath the hood of the quiet crisis of children's reading and into a world that's at once more fascinating, more nuanced, and more promising than most of us imagined. This book will be essential reading for parents, educators, developers, and policymakers for a generation.

Greg Toppo, national reporter, USA Today, author The Game Believes in You

Tap, Click, Read is about connecting all children to rich interactive digital learning networks, mindful clicking and playing, and the powers of traditional literacy and new digital literacies when they are mixed and melded. It transcends the old Is it good or bad? debate around digital and social media and gets to the heart of the matter: How we can make old literacy and new media work for all kids in the service of a better world? It is a crucial read for teachers, parents, policymakers, and concerned citizens.

James Paul Gee, PhD, professor, Arizona State University, author, Literacy and Education

Explore, inquire, reflect! Guernsey and Levine remind us that reading remains central to the learning process, moving us past fear of the techno-drug to model thoughtful, directed media use that can build receptive and expressive communication skills, enlarge children's worlds and enhance their learning. Tap, Click, Read is our back-to-the-future guidebook to educating a smarter, kinder generation.

Michael Rich, MD, MPH, The Mediatrician, founder and director of the Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children's Hospital, and associate professor of pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Amazingly comprehensive, admirably concise, and altogether compelling, Tap, Click, Read is an unequalled guidebook for families and educators. Guernsey and Levine have combined their unique skills and vantage points to mine the world of research on reading and digital technology. The result is a convincing case for the vital role of parents in scaffolding children's literacy, coupled with advice and resources that will enable parents to fulfill that responsibility.

Joe Blatt, EdM, Faculty Director, Technology, Innovation, and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Tap, Click, Read is a truly readable, interesting, and informative book about technology for promoting (not displacing!) literacy, language, and thought. Better still, it is complete with take-homes for parents, teachers, and policymakers. I love this book!

Marilyn Jager Adams, PhD, visiting scholar, Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences Department, Brown University

If you want to know the latest about the new world of media and technology and its potential for young children's literacy development, this is the book for you. Simply the best book on the topic! Highly readable, highly informative, it is a must-read for parents, educators, and policymakers.

Susan B Neuman, PhD, co-author, Giving Our Children A Fighting Chance, professor and chair of the Teaching and Learning Department at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, former assistant secretary, US Department of Education

This excellent book provides a clarion call and a blueprint for change: rapidly advancing technology is the difference maker for a level learning field for early learning and lifelong literacy. Tap, Click, Read provides the evidence, the scalable models, and a fresh national strategy to ensure that every child gets a fair shot at success in a digital age.

Bev Purdue, former governor, North Carolina, and chair, Digital Learning Institute

For everyone who cares about helping children make the most of today's digital world, Tap, Click, Read is the most comprehensive review of what we know about learning in this age of screen technologies. It is smart, accessible, and compelling!

Ellen Wartella, PhD, Al-Thani Professor of Communication, professor of psychology, and professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University

In this digital wild west, Guernsey and Levine are the Lewis and Clark of our time, mapping the best trails for venturesome parents and educators. They strike the perfect tone as guides for this challenging terrain: patient, optimistic, and knowledgeable. Tap, Click, Read helps us see how we got here and arms us to create a better future.

Milton Chen, PhD, senior fellow, George Lucas Educational Foundation

As someone committed to preparing the next generation of leadersand as a parentI am delighted that this truly excellent book honors technology for the great potential it has. Tap, Click, Read lays out a winning game plan to meet kids where they are, using technology to help them understand the interconnected world in which they live.

Gary E. Knell, president & CEO of the National Geographic Society

We're living through the early stages of a learning revolution with lots of hope and hypeparticularly in early learning. The two best sources of wisdom in this space are Sesame Workshop and New America. Tap, Click, Read is the best review of the new literacy landscape available. It's packed with practical advice and examples and videos for parents and educators. Cut through the hype, make sense of the app explosion: get this book!

Tom Vander Ark, CEO/partner, Getting Smart, and former executive director of education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Digital education is the wild west. This book changes everything. It gives us a clear and conversational road map (including great videos) to inform decisions at home with our own children, in schools and libraries, and at the national level. Tap, Click, Read should be required reading.

Kyle Zimmer, CEO, First Book

In Tap, Click, Read, literacy pioneers Lisa Guernsey and Michael Levine invite educators, parents, and media makers to join them in Readialanda place where the traditional literacies of reading, writing, and speaking meet technology at the intersection of child development, early learning, and digital media. Even as they identify and describe technology-mediated, evidence-based, and developmentally informed products and practices, they remind us that what matters most for growing 21st century readers is the convergence of innovative tools and interventions with human-powered interactions and relationships between young children, parents and educators.

Chip Donohue, PhD, director, TEC Center at Erikson Institute

Mil graciasa thousand thanks for imagining the class of 2030 in this superb book. The honest, asset-based, and practical view of equity in a new age breaks new ground, especially for Latino families. Times have changed but some constants are foreverparents will always aspire and work hard so that their children can have a better future. Reading is key! Tap, Click, Read is an excellent resource that demystifies what works, what's most important, and what's possible now.

Sandra Gutierrez, executive director, Abriendo Puertas (Open Doors)