Storytime no longer looks the same as it did a generation ago. Today’s children grow up surrounded by screens, headphones, and interactive devices that shape how they experience the world including how they read. Books are no longer limited to paper pages bound on a shelf. Stories now live on tablets, phones, smart speakers, and e-readers, ready to appear with a single tap or spoken word. For some adults, this shift raises questions and concerns. Is technology replacing rea

Long before children can read a sentence or recognize a letter, they understand stories through pictures. An image can make them laugh, feel safe, feel brave, or feel curious without a single word being spoken. In children’s books, illustrations are not decorations added after the fact. They are language. They are emotion. They are often the very first way a child learns how stories work. Art that speaks without words holds a special kind of magic. It reaches children wher