Books in Print vs eReaders

I came across a GREAT post by Keri over on her blog Sweet Life of Teaching. She discusses the importance of Books in Print vs. eReaders. There is an article in the NY TIMES about it. Both are a must read for teachers. I'll let you read both articles for yourself but the bottom line for me is there needs to be a BALANCE between the two. All the gadgets and technology are wonderful but we still need to enjoy a book in print together. With a gadget, too often the focus is on the device and not the story. Comprehension suffers.

Picture from 9to5iPad.com

There's nothing better than sitting down with your child and reading and discussing a book together.
I remember when the Harry Potter Series came out. My youngest son was in 5th grade and I was taking a reading comprehension class at the time. So we decided we'd sit down and read the first book aloud together. It was a fantastic experience and memory! I got to practice the strategies I was learning in my class and my son got the benefit of asking questions, predicting, discussing, and understanding the story much more than he would have on his own.
Our district recently bought 3 Kindle Fires for each classroom. It will be fun to incorporate them into my classroom this next year. I know my firsties will be excited to use them. Our district also bought the RAZ KIDS program for each of our schools. It's a GREAT tool to get kids reading. You can read my post about it HERE. I'm all for motivation to get kids to read, whatever it takes. BUT let's not forget how important it is for parents AND teachers to sit down with kids and read together then talk about the books and stories. Have a great discussion about what we just read.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox for now. But I really think it's important for us as teachers to let the parents know the value of both.
I'd love to hear what you think!