When you think of your favorite book that you read as a young child, what is the first thing you remember about that book? Most people would say that they remember the book’s illustrations. The illustrations of a childrens book bring life to the words that are written on each page.
The visuals within a storybook can bring so much joy to young readers and can have a lasting impact on them many years into the future. Illustrations don’t just make books appear more visually pleasing, though that is an important aspect of a book’s visuals. Illustrations also play a highly important role in captivating the minds of children and can be used as a tool to aid in the development of young readers. Illustrations can also help make children feel represented and inspired.
There are an abundance of reasons as to why illustrations are important for children’s books. To discover some of the roles that they play in captivating young readers, continue reading.
Illustrations help young readers better understand stories.
When words are accompanied by pictures, children are better able to comprehend and process information within books. A study done by the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology found that illustrations were incredibly helpful in allowing children to make inferences, which is an important aspect of reading comprehension. When a book’s illustrations depict what is written, young readers can more easily follow the story because they can connect images with the text.
Additionally, when something in a story is not explicitly written out, children can make inferences based on what they see in the book’s illustrations. For example, if a story mentions a word that the reader is unfamiliar with, they can often look to the images that accompany this word to infer the meaning of the unknown word. This is highly beneficial for young readers because it helps them expand their vocabulary.
Illustrations can provide representation for young readers.
Books that show visuals of people who are not often represented in mainstream media can help children who may be a part of one of these underrepresented groups feel seen and celebrated.
In books like What If We Were All The Same! by C.M. Harris and Erin, Roderick and The Diffability Bunch by Fliss Goldsmith, young readers with disabilities can actually see themselves in the illustrations. They relate more to these books because they connect with the characters they see in these visuals.
Illustrations in books can also help children visualize themselves and their future in a positive way. For example, for young girls, it can be incredibly inspiring for books to include visuals with women who are in positions of leadership because it allows them to see that they have the capability to do the same one day in the future. Although there has not yet been a woman elected as the president of the United States, a book can include an illustration representing a woman as president. This can be inspiring for young readers. It can captivate their minds and lead them to imagine what their own future might be like.
Books with positive messages that include representation for young readers who may be underrepresented can bring them confidence and excitement, which is so important for children!
Illustrations can help inspire young readers.
Have you ever seen an illustration that has made you want to pick up a pencil and start drawing something yourself? Many children become inspired by the images within the stories they read. Encouraging the youth to use their creative mind in different ways is highly important in their development. A book with visuals that resonate with readers can inspire them to create illustrations of their own. Books with illustrations that resonate with readers can keep children searching for their next favorite story that has visuals that inspire them.
Illustrations help young readers to become engaged in a story.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep children engaged in an activity like reading. When young readers have vibrant and colorful images to accompany the text in stories, their attention is captivated. They can more easily immerse themselves in the books that they are reading when there are interesting visuals that stimulate their imagination and spark creative thinking.
The subject matter of illustrations matter too. When young readers come across illustrations that include anything that they may have a particular interest in, it can spark joy and bring excitement to them.
Many children go through phases of being interested in specific animals, people, or other topics. Maybe a young reader who has been learning about dinosaurs in class sees a book with dinosaurs illustrated on the cover. This book may catch their attention over other books. Perhaps there is a young reader who is fascinated by mermaids. If they find a book that has illustrations of mermaids, they would probably feel joy and excitement to see these creatures in a book.
Illustrations can also engage young readers if they are silly, colorful, clever or unique. Bringing humor into the illustrations of a children’s book can captivate young audiences, leading them to want to continue reading to see what the next silly visual may be. In the book, The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone, a new silly illustration appears every time a page is turned with a poor, disheveled Grover from Sesame Street doing everything in his power to keep the reader from turning to the next page. The clever and humorous illustrations that accompany the text keep young readers engaged and excited to continue reading.
A book with captivating illustrations can lead young readers to begin reading more often and can introduce children to the many joys that reading a good book can bring.
Although it is commonly said to “never judge a book by its cover”, many children often tend to do exactly that. This is why illustrations play such a large role in engaging the youth and helping them to become more interested in reading overall.
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