Take a picture book…

• Picture books are deceptively simple. 

Words and pictures in perfect harmony, but a lot of effort has gone into making it seem effortless. There’s always a bit of argy-bargy getting the words and pictures to work together, changing a word here and a picture there, until the story simply works. 

• Possibly only 500 words. 

To tell a whole story in just a few words is a whole craft in itself, making every word count. 

• Can be read at one sitting.

The perfect format to read aloud to small children. 

• They get read over and over again.

Becoming familiar stories, ideal for children to join in and participate, and eventually correct the reader if they get a word wrong, as well loved stories get learnt off by heart over time, but still loved and enjoyed, friends to revisit on each reading. 

• The illustrations paint pictures in the imagination.

Giving a child a picture of the story they’re having read, paving the way for their imaginations to build their own images of stories when they move on to books without illustrations.

• They’re written to work for different age groups.

A well crafted picture book is aimed not only at children, but at the reader as well, no matter what age the reader may be. Whether that’s through humour, or everyday scenarios that we can all relate to, creating a shared joy of reading together. 

• Sometimes they’re written in rhyme.

A well crafted rhyme is a joy to read, making the story flow along almost like singing a song. 

• The words can be playful in font, size and style.

Words don’t have to be in straight lines, they can be playful and interactive, twirling through and around the pictures, taking on different shapes or colours. The same word can be repeated in bigger and bigger font for visual effect, or a word showing a sudden loud noise can be in extra large bold font. 

• They can even have no words at all…

With no words at all, the pictures do all the work, showing a simple object to point at or name, a scene to talk about, or simply being a first book for a young child to ‘read’ to themselves. To turn the pages, getting the feel for handling a book, and enjoying the pictures on each page.

• Reading doesn’t have to be quiet time.

When we read to ourselves, we can be silent, totally immersed in the book. Reading aloud can be a quiet time too, but it doesn’t have to be… stories take on a life of their own, and every person who reads them will put their own voices to the characters in the book, adding to the joy of reading aloud. Some pictures will become a talking point, to pause and look for extra details that might not be mentioned in the text, but are there nonetheless, to discover and add to the enjoyment.