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Quality Picture Books are Worth Their Weight in Gold

I love picture books. I have seen many children fall in love with reading because of fabulously crafted picture books.

So I was a little horrified to see this headline on the NY Times over the weekend…

What???

The article goes on to discuss the fact that US publishers are commissioning and printing fewer picture books in response to falling sales which are blamed on the recent economic downturn (which is understandable) and … the fact that parents are instead buying young children predominately text based chapter books (mini novels). For children in kindergarten and first grade no less!

Picture books have so much to offer children. Prose which invites the reader into the story through fewer words helps children learn to comprehend, to form connections between the pictures and the words about the meaning being created, comprehension which is vital to learning to meaning making when independently.

Don’t say the old lady screamed- bring her on and let her scream.

– Mark Twain

The language of quality picture books is rich and carefully constructed…

I never spent less than two years on the text of one of my picture books, even though each of them is approximately 380 words long. Only when the text is finished … do I begin the pictures.

– Maurice Sendak (author of Where the Wild Things Are)

Picture books are filled with characters who amuse or evoke emotion which captivates children and introduces them to new themes, new places and new ideas, making language learning friendly and fun. Like a “spunky, hanky-panky, cranky, stinky, dinky, lanky, honky-tonky, winky, wonky donkey” (The Wonky Donkey, Craig Smith, 2009).

The illustrations of good picture books captivate children… and adults. We recently borrowed Duck on a Bike (David Shannon) from our local library and I fell in love with it (luckily Immy enjoyed it too!). The humour was so cleverly articulated through the text but would have been nothing without the splendid illustrations. Needless to say, I am buying a copy of this one!

I really hope that this article is wrong, that picture books are not going out of fashion as it truly would be a great loss in the lives of our children. Personally, I often can’t help myself buying picture books – for Immy and as birthday and baby shower gifts especially. In fact, shortly before I stumbled upon the NY Times article I had just asked the following question on Facebook as I was trolling Amazon to take advantage of the excellent Aus/US exchange rate!


Some fantastic suggestions here, quite a few of which made it into my shopping cart 😉

What picture books has your child (or you!) most recently enjoyed? Do you buy picture books? What do you look for in a quality picture book?

Related Posts

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Filed Under: Books, Literacy

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Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Hear Mum Roar says

    October 11, 2010 at 4:57 AM

    My daughter, when she started big school, enjoyed both picture books and chapter books:) I just went with her interests and her reading level
  2. Michelle says

    October 11, 2010 at 9:58 AM

    Long live the picture book!!!!
    We love them!!!
  3. shae says

    October 11, 2010 at 10:07 AM

    Gosh we just LOVE picture books! I have tried Tannah on chapter books and she has zero interest at this point despite me being keen to read a classic (like Charlotte's Web or Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) to her.

    We are loving "The Terrible Plop" by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner. It's not about poo either lol.
  4. MaryAnne says

    October 11, 2010 at 2:21 PM

    We LOVE picture books! They are pretty much the only books I ever buy new (I buy them used from the library, too). We have at least four shelves full of them, and I have a long list of more I want to acquire. My kids read several every day. A few favorites are "Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?" and "Owl Babies", both by Martin Waddell, and "When Dinosaurs Came with Everything" by Elise Broach.
  5. Timmi says

    October 11, 2010 at 2:38 PM

    I think this is completely ridiculously! Yea when we were short on money for awhile we weren't buying books but we were going to the library every week instead. Now that we're doing a little better I'm buying books! I give them at showers to help with new parents' collection and birthdays and Christmas. My dad is such an avid reader and made sure his kids were the same, by getting us books just about any time he didn't care what kind they were. I'll be doing the same.
  6. Juliet Robertson says

    October 11, 2010 at 5:07 PM

    I saw this article too via Lenore Skenazy's blog (http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/picture-books-too-babyish-i-e-fun-for-kindergarteners/) and was quite shocked too. As a teacher and as a former head teacher I prided myself on how well children read and enjoyed books and texts of all kinds (and this was reflected in the attainment levels). Reading picture books must never be equated with lower standards or less challenging books.

    Some very young children do love big texts and chapter books but to assume this is a mark of "standards" or challenge is a very limited perspective. A good example here are poems such as "The Highway Man" or "The Pied Piper" which are poems for older children often written in pictorial format for younger ones to enjoy. Another example is "Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief Seattle".
  7. Raising a Happy Child says

    October 11, 2010 at 6:05 PM

    We love picture books and buy a few every month (not to mention bringing in a big load every week from our library). My latest acquisition was Christopher Columbus from My First Biography series - it's beautifully illustrated and absolutely age appropriate for young kids.
  8. katef says

    October 12, 2010 at 5:53 AM

    Oh we love picture books here!

    Though I can understand the lure of the beginners chapter book... Now that my girls are getting good at reading they are desperate to be reading 'grown up books' and they really want something a bit longer and involved than your average picture book. They still adore a good picture book, but I wish there was more choice in this 'in between' section. A book with glorious pictures but a a few more words and bit more involved story?
  9. Park. Reverse. Neutral. says

    October 12, 2010 at 10:31 AM

    Has anyone mentioned Mem Fox? Where is the Green Sheep is just one of many excellent books of hers for young kids
  10. Chenoa says

    October 12, 2010 at 8:35 PM

    I have always had a passion for kids books and particularly picture books. I used to sell kids books via party plan and it was difficult and made me sad, not because the books weren't great; quite frankly, I couldn't compete with Tupperware. I think with all the other forms of entertainment out there now, there is less of a need to use books for entertainment and many mums will use the TV or some other electronic device. Reading has become something you need to learn like toilet training or counting. It makes me really sad that there are so many kids missing out on what I feel is one of the greatest joys: sharing a book with a parent. My 12 year old will still sometimes come in and listen as my words bounce around the room to some catchy text that my 3 and 4 year old are listening to before bed. Picture books really are timeless!
  11. Chic Mummy says

    October 16, 2010 at 12:37 PM

    We will still be buying them - my kids love their picture books! On a side note, if you want to buy books from Australia, Border's Online and Fishpond.com.au will both price match Amazon.com and refund the difference plus 10% (fishpond gives it as store credit, though).
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