Pictue Books!

 Picture books can be read to children of all ages from babies to teenagers. Picture books use illustrations, with our without text, to convey stories that can engage children. In picture books with text, the author and illustrator jointly share the responsibility of making the picture book 'work.' The best picture books provide a mix of engaging stories, strong characters, rich language, and visual wonder. 


A recent picture book I read is Greedy Cat by Joy Cowley. I had never read this story before and was intrigued by the title. This book has a great interplay between visual and verbal features which enrich meaning and interpretation. This picture book did a great job in combining verbal and visual features as an integrated whole.




Another recent picture book I read is Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Keats received the Caldecott Medal for his collage artwork. Words were chosen to capture a mood and were further enhanced by colorful settings. 





The book Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen was selected as the Caldecott Honor book in 2015. The book for the most part follows the layout of having the image on one page and the accompanying text on the next page. The book also greatly incorporates the use of white space. The illustrations rely on the positioning of the eyes to describe the relationship to the objects on the page that are hidden to the boys, but aware to the dog in the story. 



I believe these three books qualify as picture books for their engaging pictures and combination of illustrations and text. 


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