Not Too Old for Picture Books

Posted by Jimmie | 0 comments

It goes without saying that picture books are wonderful for reading to elementary students. But once a child achieves reading independence and moves to chapter books, he is usually encouraged to stop reading picture books since they are “too juvenile.” Only if an older child has younger siblings can he sneak an occasional peek at a picture book. That is a real shame because picture books truly are suitable for all ages.

A food analogy applies well to picture books. Babies are fed exclusively on milk, but once they start to eat real food, they still drink milk. Even adults still drink milk.

Picture books are the same. Little children begin their literature experience with board books and picture books. Later, they graduate up to easy readers, chapter books, and full novels. But picture books can still be enjoyed alongside those other types of books.

Choose Living Picture Books

Just because a book has pictures does not mean it is suitable for children. And not every picture book marketed toward children is quality literature.

When providing a literature-rich environment for your children, it is important to choose living picture books. Those books are classic and appeal to a reader of any age. A living book should be fun for both parent and child to read.

Also strive to match the complexity to your child’s level. There are simplistic picture books that even preschoolers can enjoy and very sophisticated picture books that only older children can appreciate.

Picture Books for Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers

David Wiesner, a popular picture book author said,

“I’ve written picture books before and they seem to have a very wide age appeal. It’s nice to hear particularly even from middle school and high school teachers who have used the books in class. It’s unfortunate that after a certain age, some people think that we don’t need pictures anymore. I don’t believe that for any reason.”

There is a real prejudice against reading picture books beyond elementary school, and we homeschoolers can work to remove it while adding a new tool to our resource repertoire.

Picture Books for Introducing a New Unit of Study

Picture books can set the stage for broad topics of study such as art or history. The visual images of a picture book lay a foundation upon which to build the rest of your unit. Because a picture book is not threatening and sets a fun tone, it is a perfect way to kick off a new unit.

Picture Books for Illustrating an Abstract Concept

The highly visual element of a picture book makes it perfect for introducing an abstract concept. Two living math picture books immediately come to mind:

• What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? clearly demonstrates the Pythagorean theorem.
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth illustrates how the circumference of the earth was measured mathematically.

Picture books like these demonstrate mathematical facts in ways that mere words could not express. And surely no one could argue that the ideas in the books are juvenile. Quite the opposite, these picture books tackle quite complex concepts.

Picture Books as Literature

Living picture books offer same literary opportunities as other types of books – practice in reading comprehension, figurative speech, and vocabulary. Because they can be read more quickly than a novel, picture books are perfect for studying elements of fiction (plot, character, setting, point of view, and theme). If a book study is dragged out too long, as a novel study often is, an understanding of how the elements of fiction work together can become disjointed. With a picture book, the whole analysis can be done in one or two lessons instead of several weeks.

Want more information? Read more on teaching with picture books and look at this list of books suitable for older children.

Wordless Books

If picture books are considered childish, wordless books are even more neglected for older children. However, wordless books are great tools for language development no matter a child’s age.

Complex wordless books require quite a bit of visual scrutiny and understanding of cause and effect to understand the story. Because of this difficulty, some picture books are more suitable for middle schoolers than for elementary students.

How do you “read” a wordless book?

You tell your own story based on what you see. Every reader’s version will be different. The beauty of the wordless book is that there is no right or wrong wording. You point out the details you think are most important, using words that you choose.

Read a wordless book to your child and then have her read it to you. At first she may parrot your version, but as she grows in confidence with the story, she will add unique elements of her own such as dialogue between characters or thoughts and feelings of the characters. In this way, wordless books offer a chance to develop creativity. Be sure to encourage that creative approach by telling the story a bit differently each time you read it. Let your child know that there are many ways to read a wordless book.

Some of my favorite wordless book authors are

1. Mercer Mayer (great for younger children because the story lines are simple)
2. Barbara Lehman (a mix of both simple and complex stories)
3. David Wiesner (a mix of both simple and complex stories)

Older children can use wordless books as writing prompts or as storytelling/public speaking prompts. The story is already there; the focus is on providing the words to tell it, either in writing or orally.

In the comments, please share your thoughts on using picture books and wordless books, and feel free to recommend some of your favorites.

Jimmie is a former public school teacher turned homeschooling stay-at-home-mom. Her only child, Sprite, is a creative middle school student who loves the arts and living books. Jimmie uses a loosely Charlotte Mason approach with lots of notebooking and field trips. Visit her blogs Jimmie’s Collage and The Notebooking Fairy.