I don’t know about you, but my students get pumped when I bring out the iPad, even if it involves reading an e-book. But can reading books on a tablet really promote text comprehension compared to good ole’ fashioned story time?

Dore et al. attempted to answer this question. In this study, 4–5-year-old children read the same e-book on an iPad either with their parents, with audio narration, or with only the pictures. All of the children were pre-literate, meaning they were not able to sound out or read any words. The e-book was a no-frills kind of story without any sound effects, hot spots, or games involved…