Why am I passionate about this?

As an avid reader, I have been fascinated by children’s reading development and began researching this topic with a specific interest in the personal motivation of young readers. I examined children’s reading in various digital formats, including e-books made by families and children themselves. Today, I work as Professor in Norway and the UK and enjoy working across academia and industry. I feel very passionate about communicating research in an accessible way to children’s teachers, caregivers, and policy-makers. The books on my list do this exceptionally well, and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.


I wrote

The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond

By Natalia I. Kucirkova,

Book cover of The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond

What is my book about?

"Kucirkova provides a much-needed nuanced understanding of the impact of personal data economy on today’s children. She describes the various…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of How We Read Now: Strategic Choices for Print, Screen, and Audio

Natalia I. Kucirkova Why did I love this book?

In this book, Baron provides an accessible and comprehensive guide to the latest knowledge on a specific digital activity: reading with screens. Her focused and nuanced perspective on a specific aspect of living with screens is a refreshing approach. I enjoyed reading about research on digital reading from various perspectives and the practical advice for applying this knowledge to my own reading habits. I particularly liked the engaging account of the differences between reading print and digital books and how that is different from audio stories. As someone who has been researching young children’s reading in relation to new media, I found the summary of research on various types of text particularly interesting.

By Naomi S. Baron,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How We Read Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An engaging and authoritative guide to the impact of reading medium on learning, from a foremost expert in the field

We face constant choices about how we read. Educators must select classroom materials. College students weigh their textbook options. Parents make decisions for their children. The digital revolution has transformed reading, and with the recent turn to remote learning, onscreen reading may seem like the only viable option. Yet selecting digital is often based on cost or convenience, not on educational evidence. Now more than ever it is imperative to understand how reading medium actually
impacts learning-and what strategies we…


Book cover of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens

Natalia I. Kucirkova Why did I love this book?

Tap, Click, Read was one of the first books to describe reading with screens in a balanced and measured way. I liked that the authors engaged with a range of research studies and outlined the significant potential of digital books for children’s literacy development, particularly if the books are designed with research principles in mind. The book inspired me to write in jargon-free language when communicating research to non-academic audiences. I loved the many examples in the book illustrating how young children tap, click and indeed read with modern interactive screens.

By Lisa Guernsey, Michael H. Levine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tap, Click, Read as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A guide to promoting literacy in the digital age With young children gaining access to a dizzying array of games, videos, and other digital media, will they ever learn to read? The answer is yes if they are surrounded by adults who know how to help and if they are introduced to media designed to promote literacy, instead of undermining it. Tap, Click, Read gives educators and parents the tools and information they need to help children grow into strong, passionate readers who are skilled at using media and technology of all kinds print, digital, and everything in between. In…


Book cover of Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives

Natalia I. Kucirkova Why did I love this book?

Many parents are worried about the amount of time their children spend with screens and look for ways and a deeper understanding of how to best manage children’s use of modern technologies. I loved how Livingstone and Blum-Ross brought together research, deep thinking, and applicable strategies in one coherent book volume. I learnt so much from reading this book, including how algorithms shape children’s games and social conversations. The most important takeaway for me was the vital need to support children’s rights in the digital age.

By Sonia M. Livingstone, Alicia Blum-Ross,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Parenting for a Digital Future as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the decades it takes to bring up a child, parents face challenges that are both helped and hindered by the fact that they are living through a period of unprecedented digital innovation. In Parenting for a Digital Future, Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross draw on extensive and diverse qualitative and quantitative research with a range of parents in the UK to reveal how digital technologies characterize parenting in late modernity, as parents
determine how to forge new territory with little precedent or support. They chart how parents often enact authority and values through digital technologies since "screen time," games,…


Book cover of Exploring Key Issues in Early Childhood and Technology: Evolving Perspectives and Innovative Approaches

Natalia I. Kucirkova Why did I love this book?

The beauty of edited books is that they provide readers with an array of viewpoints and approaches. In this book, top scholars researching the topics of digital media and early childhood are brought together to give their summaries and key takeaways for specific digital activities with young children, including reading, play, and communication with friends and family. I enjoyed learning about the diverse approaches and was inspired by the use of technologies described by researchers from across the world. 

By Chip Donohue (editor),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Exploring Key Issues in Early Childhood and Technology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Exploring Key Issues in Early Childhood and Technology offers early childhood allies, both in the classroom and out, a cutting-edge overview of the most important topics related to technology and media use in the early years.

In this powerful resource, international experts share their wealth of experience and unpack complex issues into a collection of accessibly written essays. This text is specifically geared towards practitioners looking for actionable information on screen time, cybersafety, makerspaces, coding, computational thinking, STEM, AI and other core issues related to technology and young children in educational settings. Influential thought leaders draw on their own experiences…


Book cover of Changing Play: Play, Media and Commercial Culture from the 1950s to the Present Day

Natalia I. Kucirkova Why did I love this book?

I found it fascinating to read how play has changed over the past fifty years and beyond. I found many parallels between the changes to children’s play and changes to children’s reading. The influence of mass media on today’s children's play is undeniable and the authors did a great job of highlighting both the potentials and limitations of this influence. I was left with many questions and ideas after reading the book and really enjoyed how the book taught me to think about children’s play in a new way.

By Jackie Marsh, Julia Bishop,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Changing Play as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book explores changes in the nature of the relationship between play, media and commercial culture through a comparison of play in the 1950s/60s and the present day, examining the continuities and discontinuities in play over time. There are many aspects of play which remain the same today as they were sixty years ago, which relate to the purposes of play, the way in which children weave in material from a range of sources in their play, including media, and how they play with each other. Differences in play between now and the mid-twentieth century are due to the very…


Explore my book 😀

The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond

By Natalia I. Kucirkova,

Book cover of The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond

What is my book about?

"Kucirkova provides a much-needed nuanced understanding of the impact of personal data economy on today’s children. She describes the various forms of personalized childhoods, including selfies, avatars, digital personalised books, story apps, or toys. The book critically examines the key changes that have taken place in representations of self in the 21st century and their impact on families and children’s learning. The many ways in which personal data are collected, enhanced, and distributed by technologies are discussed against the backdrop of broader societal trends, such as globalization, technologisation, and personal data economy. The book provides a balanced account of the positives and negatives of personalisation on children’s identity, key learning outcomes, and socio-emotional development."

You might also like...

Christmas Actually

By Lisa Darcy,

Book cover of Christmas Actually

Lisa Darcy Author Of The Pact

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Cat lover Traveler Reader Amateur tennis player Foodie

Lisa's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect or remember. Christmas Actually is a festive drama about family and forgiveness and a snapshot of modern family life, addressing Instagram to motherhood and everything in between.

Why Christmas? My publisher wanted my new novel to have a festive theme, specifically set in Australia–sun, surf, sunburn, and prawns. Christmas in Australia is very different from Christmas in the UK, USA, and Canada. We typically wear shorts and t-shirts, eat salad and seafood for Christmas lunch, and play beach cricket in the afternoon. Despite the season, conflicts, secrets,…

Christmas Actually

By Lisa Darcy,

What is this book about?

Time spent with family can be challenging, especially at Christmas actually…

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer.

With her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly-dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt.

Then as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens – both personally and professionally. Can she move on…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in parenting, innovation, and Christianity?

Parenting 376 books
Innovation 85 books
Christianity 679 books