Comparing electronic and paper storybooks for preschoolers: Attention, engagement, and recall

•Preschoolers were more engaged with the story in electronic than in paper format.•Executive functioning was a stronger predictor of attention to the books than age.•Child-initiated communication and story recall were low without adult scaffolding.•Recall of story content was equivalent from electronic and paper book formats.•Executive functioning and language were stronger predictors of recall than age.

Preschool children's attention, engagement, and communication during readings from comparable electronic and paper storybooks, and their recall of story content were assessed. Seventy-nine preschoolers listened to one story on a tablet and another in paper format. The e-book contained multimedia and interactive features that activated story-related information. Dependent measures were attention to the book, the adult, and off-task; engagement and communication; recall of story content. Language and executive functioning were assessed. Results showed that (1) the e-book took twice as long to complete, (2) children were more attentive to, and engaged in the e-book, (3) children communicated more about the device during the e-book but more about the story during the paper book, (4) there was no difference in recall by format, (5) executive functioning was a stronger predictor of attention and story recall than was age. Results were discussed in relation to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning.