Never Too Old for Picture Books

I saw an opinion piece in the New York Times over the weekend and definitely had to share it! Entitled Your Kids Aren’t Too Old for Picture Books, and Neither Are You the article explains the bad rap picture books get in the literary world and how important they are for early literacy and beyond.

Picture books do a lot of heavy lifting in the children’s literary world. They’re the go-to books for reading to young children at bedtime, but oftentimes, as the article points out, parents use the graduation from picture books as a point of pride. But, in reality, these books are for everyone.

Pictures

If you’re not familiar with the picture book world of the 21st century, you are missing out on some absolutely amazing art. Artists like Erin Stead, Kadir Nelson, Christian Robinson, Dan Santat, and Aaron Becker are just a few of the many illustrators working today that are phenomenal at their craft.

I have literally looked at illustrations and considered cutting pages out of books to frame as artwork around my house – from picture books. Books geared toward 4-8 year olds. They are truly a masterpiece.

Words

And then there’s storytelling. Picture books are full of words you never hear in regular day-to-day conversation. I used to read a book for storytime that had snakes in it. But, in the book, they were called vipers. What a great way for kids to connect words together. They’re learning, without even realizing it. Something you don’t even think about, but so important to early literacy.

And, finally, kids are learning to read and interpret two variations of the same story. They’re listening to the words, while also decoding the illustrations to learn more about what’s going on. Visual literacy is extremely important in today’s fast-paced social network world – rarely can you read an article, rather you watch a video about a story. It’s very much the same thing – attaching words and pictures together.

Check out some of the amazing picture books being published today. Not sure where to start? I’m obsessed with Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho. I promise you’re never too old for picture books.