There’s been quite a bit about illustrated children’s books in the British press recently: first, back in April, I noticed this
article from The Daily Telegraph about how research has shown that “very young children learn faster from picture books that contain colour photographs than from books with colour drawings” Aaaargh! Thank goodness it goes on to point out some of what’s special about artists’ illustrations. Then I noticed that Achockablog have highlighted another article from the Glasgow Herald in which Debi Gliori bemoans the currently perceived status of picture books. That made me really sad as Debi has been a firm favorite in our household since Baby Number One would only eat if Hello, Baby Bear was being read to him – every splodge of mush on a buzzy bee or a hooty owl belies the notion that he was too small to understand what the drawings meant…
Debi’s words have made me think about the role of illustration and how much good illustrations are inseparable from their story. The other day we were again reading Ed Young’s Beyond the Great Mountains, tracing the parallels between the pictures and the characters, reading the words over and over. It was a deeply satisfying read in the way only poetry can be – and a very calm way to end the day… which is quite amazing really, as we had also been doing mental gymnastics talking about how it all fitted together.
So how about you? What special picture books are you reading with your child at the moment? Do send in your comments and let us know.
1 Comments on Books at Bedtime: We Need Picture Books!, last added: 6/15/2007
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Yes, we do need picture books! And for those interested in exploring the theme of illustration in children’s literature, from an Indian perspective, Chennai’s ‘Tara Publishing’ has a provocative title: “Picturing Words & Reading Pictures,” written by Gita Wolf and illustrated by various artists. Gita should know a thing or two, being as innovative and committed an author as she is.
Here’s a link to the book on their site: http://www.tarabooks.com/bookdetails01.asp?bookid=7