Missing the Narrative

This article in The Atlantic suggests that by learning to read on tablets or other electronic devices, children are not as engaged by stories and are therefore less likely to become recreational readers as adults. The argument is that the interactivity of electronic media is seizing more of the children's attention and diverting them from the narrative of the stories.

Before I point out the obvious fallacy in that argument, (which you've probably already figured out), let me say this: for most of human history, stories were passed down via word-of-mouth through many generations and then recited to the children of the tribe. If you've ever tried to tell a story to a child, you realize exactly how interactive that can become. Perhaps interactive storytelling via electronic media is a reversion to a previous form of storytelling, one which predates passively reading printed fiction?

Okay, now answer me this: how many children's books can you name which actually contain a "narrative"? "T" is for "teapot." And "tempest."