When you think of a children’s book, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, I think of bright colors and illustrations that help tell the story to young audiences. As somebody who has worked with children for a few years now, I have been able to see a variety of children’s book artwork. Some common factors I have noticed in many books are clear shapes, bright colors, and expressions. The bold, brightly colored drawings help kids begin to recognize shapes and patterns, which is a very important step in early learning.
As children are beginning to read, pictures allow them to have a better understanding of what is happening in the story. Even if they do not know how to read the words or what the words mean, they still have the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding. When a child is listening to a story being read aloud to them, they can connect words to images. I find read-alouds and storytimes to be very important, especially for preschool and pre-k children. When there is a voice giving life to the words, it immerses listeners in the story and makes it a little bit more fun.Â
I work as a summer camp counselor for preschoolers, and one of the books we read this summer was The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. The use of color in this book is something that particularly stands out to me. Each color crayon shows illustrations of things in that color, and each crayon has its own distinct personality! For example, the yellow crayon shows a drawing of the sun. Yellow crayon has a feud going on with orange crayon, and they argue over who is the color of the sun. This adds a lighthearted, funny dynamic between the two crayons. The crayons are illustrated with facial expressions and body gestures that express how they are feeling. In many storybooks, inanimate objects are brought to life. Younger children frequently color using crayons, so bringing crayons to life is a very cool, engaging, way to make a connection to their real world. Plus, whoever is reading the book aloud has the opportunity to act out the personalities and emotions of each crayon!Â
One of my favorite books growing up was Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. I even had a stuffed Knuffle Bunny of my own! The illustrations in this book were actually layered over real black and white pictures of Brooklyn, New York. As much as I love generic brightly colored children’s book artwork, creating a kind of collage with real images and illustrations was, and still is, fascinating to me. I really loved stuffed animals growing up, and I still do, which was something that made me connect to the story of Knuffle Bunny. Each children’s book has its own message that you can gather from the text and imagery. Everybody can find a story that they connect with. I think that the sense of comfort and connection these stories bring is so beautiful.Â
Mo Willems is one of my favorite children’s book illustrators. In elementary school I frequently read the Elephant & Piggie books. The Pigeon books are also classics! His art style uses a distinct color palette, and he outlines his drawings which makes them more recognizable. Piggie is always the same shade of rosy pink, and Elephant is the same blue-ish gray color. A lot of his stories touch upon emotions and feelings. Learning about emotions through literature is helpful for children, as it teaches them that it is normal to feel big emotions. It helps with developing a sense of comfort around feelings, and showing that you are not alone. Many authors touch upon emotions in their children’s stories, which is very important in my opinion.Â
Being exposed to literature and art at a young age is so helpful in developing creativity, imagination, and understanding. In a world that has become so digital, reading physical books is more important now than ever. It is important that we support our libraries, book stores, schools, and any other places that have literary opportunities for kids. Fun art and illustrations make stories more enjoyable for younger children, and they play a much more significant role than just being decorative. Children’s book illustrations help with comprehension skills, vocabulary, imagination, literacy skills, emotional management, and so much more.
What is your favorite children’s book, and why? Â