Picture Book - Characteristics

Characteristics

Any book that pairs a narrative format with pictures can be categorized as a picture book. "In the best picturebooks, the illustrations are as much a part of the experience with the book as the written text." Picture books are most often aimed at young children, and while some may have very basic language especially designed to help children develop their reading skills, most are written with vocabulary a child can understand but not necessarily read. For this reason, picture books tend to have two functions in the lives of children: they are first read to young children by adults, and then children read them themselves once they begin to learn to read. Picture books may or may not have page numbers.

There are several subgenres among picture books including concept books, nursery rhymes, toy books, alphabet books and early readers. Picture books also cover a wide variety of themes and are also published with content aimed at older children or even adults. Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sis is one example of a picture book aimed at an adult audience. Board books are picture books published on a hard cardboard. Board books are often intended for small children to use and play with. Cardboard is used for the cover as well as the pages, and is intended to be more durable. Pop-up books employ paper engineering to make parts of the page pop up or stand up when pages are opened. More broadly books using similar techniques are known as movable books. The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky is one example of a bestseller pop-up picture book. Often the author and illustrator are two different people. Once an editor in a publishing house has accepted a manuscript for a text from an author, the editor selects an illustrator.

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