The Magic of Picture Books for Kids and Their Grownups

Grownups, how do you feel when you’re reading a picture book to the kiddos in your life? (Let’s assume it’s a “fresh” one, and not that one book the kid has demanded you read 4,372 times in the last two days.)

I, for one, have a hard time being in a bad mood when I’m reading a picture book. I love doing silly voices and talking about the words and exploring the illustrations. Reading is my go-to when I need a reset, so it’s not all that surprising that reading picture books with Mark has a similar effect.

But I know the impact these books have on kids is even more profound.

Reading Comprehension

No, at three he’s not reading on his own yet, but reading stories together helps Mark learn how stories work. He’s learning about plot, he’s learning to predict what comes next, he’s learning vocabulary, and he’s learning to interpret what he’s seeing on the page. 

(He’s also re-teaching me how to slow down and really study what I’m reading, investigating every detail and every possible meaning. Why is that dragon feeding that dog a taco? What are all those people doing at Paddington Station? And oh no is he going to think it’s really okay to put bugs on cupcakes?)

Emotional Intelligence

I’ve always considered books to be a safe space to work out our problems and learn how to manage new situations, and this is even more true for kids books. At prime picture book age, kids are experiencing some really big feelings for the first time. Their worlds are expanding, as are their concepts of themselves as individuals. There is so much to figure out, and seeing characters in their favorite books navigate unfamiliar new territory helps them build the confidence to do the same.

And if we’re doing our jobs right as authors and publishers, picture books give kids a chance to see themselves in the pages of the stories they read, strengthening their sense of belonging and value in their community. 

Pamela Paul puts it beautifully in her 2021 New York Times article on the value of picture books for every age:

“Picture books also offer an accessible way for children to understand that books are for them, no matter who they are or where they’ve come from. The children depicted in contemporary picture books display the full ethnic, gender, class, religious and geographic diversity of the world. In their pages, kids visibly take public transportation, grow up in same-sex households and face physical and emotional challenges; they explore imaginary and fantastical worlds where it’s sometimes easier to work out childhood woes.”

Imagination

My son routinely asks me, “Is that Pheenie’s haunted house?” and he looked up from the breakfast table the other day in mock terror and said, “Mama, Viola Swamp is coming!” I love watching him incorporate characters from our books into his real-world play, and I love watching him come up with totally bizarre scenarios all by himself. 

I know the two or three or infinity books we read every night before bed are fueling that, and I know his imagination will help him in ways far more important than trying to scare me into thinking the world’s meanest substitute teacher is coming to our house. It will take the emotional development that begins with the books themselves to the next level, allowing him to invent his own scenarios within which to explore what he’s learning about the world.

In a 2023 paper on imagination and play in picture books, Amanda Niland notes, “Within the realm of their imagination, children have freedom to see the world in whatever way they wish. Therefore, imagination can be very empowering for children—they can use it to make meaning, creatively solve problems or exercise agency.” Imaginative play is crucial to children’s social and emotional development, and picture books are a portal to that power. 

Building Bonds Between Kids and Their Grownups

In an interview with NAEYC, renowned children’s book author Mem Fox talks about the bond that forms between parents and children when they read aloud together: “Parents get to know their children through the way they read to their children and what they’re reading. Parents get to know their children’s character, and children get to know their parents. There’s a fondness that develops that’s just gorgeous.”

I’ve noticed that our reading routine is different from a lot of our other morning and evening routines in that the power dynamic dissipates and the sense of urgency quiets down. We’re no longer telling him what to do or reminding him to please focus on putting on his pants or stop splashing water out of the sink. When we’re reading books together, the footing feels a little more equal. We snuggle up, we talk about what we’re reading, we ask each other questions. 

Mem Fox goes on to say, “The book will initiate conversations that go for miles, on this detour and that. They talk about the world and the way it works, relatives who live close by or don’t, things that happen during the day. The book is a pathway to the rest of the world, to a huge conversation about what’s going on in the child’s life.” 

I’d like to think the conversations we have while we’re reading—about why Olivia shouldn’t have colored on the walls or why everyone helped Little Blue Truck—are practice for bigger, tougher conversations we’ll have as he gets older. I’d like to think we’re showing him we’re up to talking about whatever is on his mind, and no question is too big or too weird.

Fostering a Lifelong Love of Reading

“As children grow, and move on from early childhood education to school,” says Niland in her 2023 paper, “those who enjoy picture books and being read to are more likely to become children who want to read, and who feel that the world of reading is available to and possible for them.”

The benefits of reading are lifelong, and if reading picture books can ensure that our kids are set up to harness those benefits for the rest of their lives, that’s true magic.