Written by Anne Garton, Illustrated by Derek Garton, published by Children’s E-Books.
Is an e-book really just a book? Or is it digital literature? If I choose to believe that ‘[their] authority derives from more than the technology that went into them’ (Dreyfus, 2016), then I also position myself to lean into the idea that yes, it becomes more likely that they can be considered digital literature. A paper-based book being (re)released as an e-book increases its availability and circulation via its format and additional features made available by the platform used to distribute it. With the rise of artificial intelligence that can embed voiceover narrative, translation, definitions, etc. without additional technical knowledge by the author, I would argue that e-books are leading the way in terms of raising the baseline rather than being relegated to antique status.
The Wetlands is one of these works-in-progress with development potential as the technology continues to improve – a realistic fiction children’s e-book, digitised in 2021 after originally being published as a printed book in 2008. It details the story of a landscape falling victim to urban sprawl, the residents of the area becoming aware of the impact of development on the natural ecosystem, and the steps they take to restore it to its former state of homeostasis. It is written in short rhyming verses, and illustrated by hand in watercolours.
The text itself is downloadable as a PDF direct from the Children’s E-Books website, accessible to the reader via any web browser or the Adobe suite of products. This makes it a viable option for both large screen projection and use on individual devices for small-group or individual reading on tablets or laptops. There is no subscription fee or software update needed for continued access, and there does not seem to be a limit as to how many devices it can be loaded onto after a single payment – all the organisation requests is that they are contacted in writing for permission to do so.
When evaluating The Wetlands in terms of its value in terms of curriculum connections, this supports literacy development and student understanding that texts can take many forms including digital texts, and of conventions of print and screen, including how simple digital texts are organised (QCAA, 2024). The settings of the story are familiar to many young students (suburbia, wetlands), there are explicit connections with humanities topics (most notably geography) and the sequence of events overlaps with the cross-curricular priority of sustainability. It is possible to say that the way in which the text is stored and accessed in terms of its file type is also supportive of students developing their skills in basic digital technologies and digital literacy. Teacher Rating: 6/10
In terms of assessing The Wetlands in its effectiveness as a piece of digital literature for students in the infants’ years (Prep/Kindy to Year 2), I entered its details into the VEBB evaluation tool. While it is primarily designed for use in assessing the effectiveness of digital literature apps, the criteria are worth considering for all examples of digital literature constructed for use in early years education settings. In terms of its connection between illustrations and text, The Wetlands was deemed to be moderately effective – but the absence of companion audio renders it less useful. Its use with a cohort still developing phonemic awareness and fluency (as is the case in the early years) is limited to activities involving direct instruction and/or involvement of a literate guide. There are no interactive text features, which may cause further disengagement of students who avoid language-based activities or do not perceive themselves to be readers – however, as a different perspective, this could also be considered a positive in terms of reducing cognitive load when managing both a device and acquiring the knowledge replete within the text (Klippen et. al., 2024). Matrix Rating: 6.5/10
It has been asserted that even in the case of special text types (which includes digital literature), selection tools should not be used in isolation from local judgement (Hughes-Hassell and Mancall, 2005). However, while The Wetlands was originally published in 2008, there seem to be no reviews online – despite it also being available to purchase and download for Kobo and Kindle. In the absence of crowdsourced feedback, I had to look elsewhere.
Thus I went straight to the intended audience – my five-year-old. He found the platform difficult to navigate on my laptop, despite using the touchscreen functionality, and he was frustrated by the pages not coming up at the right size for the screen automatically, as it impeded me being able to read the text to him fluently as intended. However, he liked the story (‘That was great!’), especially the animals (‘Whoa that’s a lot of frogs!’), and he liked the illustrations, though he was a little confused as to why ‘Nothing happens when I touch it’. Student rating: 7/10
Overall, an average example of digital literature in the early years – aggregate score for The Wetlands of 6.5/10.
References
Dreyfuss, J. (2016, June 13). The evolution of the book [Video]. TED-Ed. https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-evolution-of-the-book-julie-dreyfuss
Garton, Anne (2021). The Wetlands. Children’s E-Books. https://childrensebooks.com.au/ebook/the-wetlands/
Hughes-Hassell, S., & Mancall, J. C. (2005). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners. American Library Association.
Klippen, M. I. F., Moser, T., Reikerås, E., & Guldbrandsen, A. (2024). A Review of Trends in Scandinavian Early Childhood Education and Care Research from 2006 to 2021. Education Sciences, 14(5), Article 478. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050478
Norwegian Reading Centre – University of Stavanger (2025). VEBB – Educational evaluation of picture book apps for shared dialogue/conversation-based reading. Norwegian Reading Centre – University of Stavanger. https://vebb.uis.no/