Do ABC eBooks boost engagement and learning in preschoolers? An experimental study comparing eBooks with paper ABC and storybook controls

• Preschoolers were observed using various paper/electronic ABC books in 16 sessions.
• Participants in the ebook condition were more engaged with the books.
• ABC ebook users frequently activated hotspots but rarely said object or letter names.
• Paper ABC book users more often named letters, along with corresponding objects.
• Engagement with paper ABC books but not ABC ebooks predicted post-test early literacy.

Alphabet books are an important instructional text used in early education. Advances in mobile technology have led to alphabet books of an electronic format with accompanying sound, animations, and interactive hot spots. This study investigates the differential effectiveness of paper alphabet books and alphabet eBooks in training alphabetic knowledge in 4-year-olds. Three groups of approximately 30 children were assigned to one of three conditions: paper alphabet book, alphabet eBook, or storybook control. Book reading sessions composed of three to four children were run twice a week over eight weeks, with child-book behaviours coded at each session. Measures of early reading ability were collected pre and post-intervention. Children in all conditions improved over time in emergent literacy but no significant differences between conditions were found. Children using paper alphabet books were more likely to say letter names, and their time oriented to the books predicted post-test letter-name and phonological awareness after controlling for pre-test scores. In contrast, time oriented to the alphabet eBooks made no prediction to post-test sores.