The early years of childhood are critical for the successful development of adult literacy, whatever that literacy might look or feel like in the oncoming digital age. Two questions that become important are what sort of literacy (or literacies) will children need in the future to navigate new information pathways, and how can we use recent advances in neuroscience to help us understand optional pathways for developing the fundamentally social skills of literacy. This paper reviews recent research from the two traditionally separate areas of contemporary literacies and infant brain development to re-examine the underpinnings of literacy learning in the early years. (author abstract)