[vc_row padding_top_multiplier=”” rc_link_color=”primary-1″ rc_link_hover_color=”primary-6″][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here at Nursery Story it almost goes without saying that we love a good read (our name is a bit of a giveaway) and today we wanted to shine a light on picture books. As technology stretches into all facets of our lives, it’s increasingly common to see children engaged with tablets and mobile phones as they consume content on Youtube and the iPlayer. We’ve even seen children engaged with Kindle’s to read books. All of which is perfectly fine, we might add. However, the traditional picture book might be in danger of being left behind and this worries us a little.
Picture books are sometimes underrated when it comes to development. They offer countless benefits to children, parents, practitioners and schools by developing a series of key skills and concepts. Moreover, they’re lots of fun for both children and adults too. And the engaging nature of picture books has lots of hidden benefits you may not have even considered which we’ll dive into below.
Inspiring Visual Thinking
The very nature of picture books means they help children understand a story whilst also sparking their imaginations. This is particularly true of wordless picture books where children absorb images and find their own meaning before advancing to the next page. As discussed in a recent Nursery Story blog, we love seeing a child’s imagination and creativity flourish as a result of activities they’re introduced to in their EYFS settings. Picture books are a huge help in that sense because they encourage curiosity in a child, as we see when they go back to these books repeatedly looking at the images and discovering new things each time. By connecting images on the page with a narrative, they’re able to make sense of what’s happening all by themselves and even make their own interpretations of what’s occurring, something we also think is important to encourage.
Introduce Challenging Concepts
Picture books can help children gain a broader understanding of the world around them by introducing concepts and ideas that might otherwise be tricky to discuss or even a little boring. Many picture books written in the last few years have tackled the issue of sustainability and how to get little ones thinking about their surroundings and how they engage with them. This is an incredibly important subject and one we’ve discussed before, but it’s also something that wouldn’t necessarily pique a child’s interest if they were simply told about it. The picture book helps bring the subject to life. This is something that’s happened for a long time. Subjects that range from sharing to friendship or even bereavement can be introduced through picture books, making difficult subjects easier to talk about and understand.
Develop Vocabulary
We know that as well as inspiring visual thinking and broaching challenging concepts that adults are often keen for children to read because it improves their school-readiness. We also know that every child develops differently and that it’s important to let them learn at their own pace. Picture books are a great way to make reading fun, first and foremost. As children absorb themselves in the images and stories then, naturally, their vocabulary will grow. A great way to help along this process is to engage with the children afterwards on what they’ve just read. This can have real benefits for helping their communication skills and enabling them to verbalise their feelings, something they will then take into their daily lives.
Ready to update your shelves with some new picture books? You might want to take a look at our blog on books that also celebrate diversity here! [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
