Kindergartener's meaning making with multimodal app books: The relations amongst reader characteristics, app book characteristics, and comprehension outcomes

App books are increasingly being used in classrooms and at home. However, little is known how children effectively make meaning with these. Given that app books substantially differ from print or CD ROM books, research specifically on the meaning making process with app books is needed. Grounded in transactional reading and new literacies theories, this observational study examined the relations amongst reader characteristics, app book characteristics, and comprehension outcomes. Fifty-three children in four kindergarten classrooms across two states were individually observed reading a different app book on an iPad six times across the school year and asked questions to elicit their comprehension. Sessions were video-recorded and coded by two coders with high inter-rater reliability. A multivariate outcome, multilevel cross-classification, mixed response analysis showed that specific reader characteristics and transactions between reader and text were linked to better comprehension outcomes. These findings can guide app book reading instruction in early childhood classrooms.