For those interested in picture books of the future, check out this video.
I think it’s interesting too that some recent articles on the future of e-reading machines like the Kindle have downplayed those devices and instead banked their money on phones as the devices most likely to be used to read books. Has anyone read a novel or any lengthy piece of text on an I-phone yet? I can see this taking off with YA fiction. In fact I can imagine publishers devising Teen books that would be marketed primarily for phone downloads.
MQ
This video is disturbing. Children already have plenty of tv and video games marketed toward them. Calling a new video game a "book" makes it more marketable in the same way that "Baby Einstein" caught on. Disney finally had to eat crow with that one. The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends no screen time for children under the age of 2, and no more than 1-2 hours per day after age 2, but they estimate that children watch an average of 3 hours per day. Yikes! There is a substantial difference with how different media stimulate our brains. The real answer to sharing lots of books with children without having the house overloaded with stuff already exists. It's this really cool technology called THE LIBRARY!