An Overview of the Types of Picture Books for Children

wooden dinosaurs on top of children's books
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Instilling a reading culture in your children is a good way to guarantee their all-rounded upbringing. Reading introduces kids to the complex nature of languages and helps them to acquire some essential communication skills. There are undoubtedly several types of books on store shelves touted as the best children’s books.

Kid’s colouring books, for instance, are great for improving your child’s motor skills, stimulating their creativity and preparing them for school. Child psychologists have associated these books with an improvement in self-esteem, confidence and self-expression.

Besides colouring books, picture books are another type of material you can consider for your child. In these books, you’ll find the content presented through pictures alone or a combination of pictures and words. Unlike illustration books, the graphics in the picture books are essential parts of their overall structure. Additionally, the length of picture books is short. Most of these books are not more than 32 pages long.

If you’re looking to get picture books for your child, consider adding one or more of the following to your little one’s library:

Board Books

These are for very young children, specifically two years old and below. Board books have thick cardboard pages that make the material durable. Apart from pictures, these books have a few items or objects that stimulate a child’s senses. These may be pieces of faux fur or cut-outs of everyday objects. A few board books also contain sound buttons that children can play.

Concept Books

These books are suitable for children who are two to eight years of age. They introduce children to different topics, such as alphabets, shapes, counting and colours. Some concept books contain simple themes like ‘B for Boy’, while others contain sentences that use the alphabet to tell a story. In general, most of these books try to explain something about life to children. A typical concept book has an average of 300 words.

Easy Reader Books

These are books for children who are just beginning to learn how to read. They are ideal for novice readers, as well as for children between the ages of four and eight.

The vocabulary presented in these books is simple. On top of that, the grammar is more direct and easy to understand compared to other reading materials. The text blocks in easy reader books are big. Plus, the images work more like illustrations rather than essential story elements.

Early Chapter Books

child reading a picture book

These books are a mix of chapter and picture books. While they still have pictures in the form of illustrations, they are not as abundant as you can expect in a picture book. Additionally, these images are often in black and white. Easy chapter books generally have more words than images. Just like the name suggests, the parts of the book consist of chapters.

Board books, concept books, easy reader books and early chapter books are just a few of the kinds of picture books that you can purchase for your little one. When choosing from one of the above picture books, aim for one that addresses your child’s concerns and passions.

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