Are picture books just for toddlers?

Many moons ago, when I was training to become a teacher, an English lecturer spoke about picture books and their importance in developing creative writing. I have to say that initially I was somewhat sceptical despite having spent numerous evenings reading picture books with my twin boys when they were young (‘Just one more Mummy’). I thought older children would just scoff and say they were babyish. I thought they would be frowned upon by colleagues as they didn’t have enough words in to develop comprehension. I thought there wouldn’t be enough ‘meat’ in them to stimulate creative writing.

But I will always give something a go so I bought a few of the suggested titles and set off for my first teaching practice with a class of very street wise Year 6 children. I can remember it now, tentatively showing the class the front cover of Silly Billy (a superb Anthony Browne book) and looking around the class for a reaction. Their eyes were immediately full of questions. We had a great discussion about what it might be about (Billy is ‘silly’ because he worries about anything and everything - a great book to read with your children if they are worriers). The children loved making predictions and were enraptured by the pictures. The subsequent writing was inspired and brilliant and the children even made their own worry dolls to write to (I still have a little box of worry dolls somewhere). We ended up reading many more Anthony Browne books (other authors are available 😊).

My first teaching post after graduating was in Reception and each half-term we had a topic or theme, around which all the teaching and learning was planned. And of course, there was always a book or two linked to the topic. This approach to the curriculum gives far more meaning to learning for the children and can be applied to any age group. As I always preferred to have my own copy of the book in question, my book collection grew and grew (a bit like that bean stalk!) and it was a theme that was to continue! The move from Reception to Year 6 (yes, a pretty big change!) didn’t stop my buying habits and I even had to buy storage boxes. The picture books for the older students may have been a little more profound and some were even wordless, but the impact was the same - children were able to use the images to develop their own story ideas.

But it isn’t just about writing, picture books also encourage reading for enjoyment. Children shouldn’t always have to be reading books that are appropriate to their reading level. In my opinion, reading for enjoyment is far more important as it develops a life-long love of reading and in our era of gaming and social media, what could be more important? In my classroom, I always had an inviting reading corner all kinds of books and magazines for the children to browse. As a tutor, I love to read with my students and often dig out my old faithful Anthony Browne books. Not sure who enjoys them the most, me or the students 😊

Back to the question at the top – are picture books just for toddlers? Well, I hope I have convinced you that this is not the case, but I have a confession to make. I love them too. One of my favourite books is The Arrival by Shaun Tan. The book is wordless and full of the most stunning drawings. Words would be surplus to this superb book. The pictures tell the story themselves although no doubt readers will interpret the pictures differently. This is what makes it so engaging as you cannot be disappointed by the ending. I also like to read comic books – this harks back to when I lived in France where they are huge. I have never understood why there aren’t as popular here. Anyway, when I lived in Bordeaux, I used to browse the comic session in the Virgin store (sadly it’s not there anymore). I wasn’t alone, many people grabbed a book from a shelf and found a comfy spot to read. This might sound odd to a Brit as it really isn’t the done thing here, but in France it’s the norm and you definitely don’t get frowned upon. I did purchase books of course and I have held on to them – Tintin, Asterix, Gaston LaGaffe and a few more arty ones. Unfortunately, I don’t read them as often as I would like, simply because they’re currently stored in the attic – I needed to make room for my cookery books but that’s a whole other topic (Theresa May – eat your heart out).

I think we need a revival of the picture book. Lockdowns have caused a lot of damage and thousands of children will have lost that precious library time where they discover whole other words and their imaginations are ignited. I’m sorry but reading on a tablet just doesn’t cut it. So, if you have children, please get down to your local library and plonk yourselves down in the reading corner and start that imaginative journey. If you need a few pointers, here are some of my favourites:

· Tuesday by David Wiesner

· The Arrival by Shaun Tan

· Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sandak

· Silly Billy by Anthony Browne (any book by Anthony Browne)

· The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman

I have actually cleared out some of my picture books recently as friends of ours have young children and I wanted to share my lovely books rather than store them. It wasn’t easy parting with them but it was great to see pictures of their new owners enjoying them 😊

I wonder how long it will be before my next book purchase…