Selecting Picture Books for Children

“Mary, the children like illustrations that look like something they could draw. Adults select books with lovely art,” a children’s librarian mentioned when she looked at the illustrations in my anthology, Tales of Adventure & Discovery. I’d apologized because they were so simplistic.

Later, a first grade teacher said much the same thing when she saw my illustrations. She explained that her students gravitated to the books in the classroom or library with the simple black and white or cartoon drawings.

“You really mean this?” I asked. Then I explained about the librarian and her discovery about youngsters and book art.

I notice, too, that my grandson, now 11 years old, generally has selected books with cartoon type characters or those drawn with simple lines. He doesn’t attempt to draw pictures to accompany the stories, but these seem to capture his attention and imagination.

A friend said she realized, with her seven children, that at the younger years, up until about 8 years old, they liked to watch movies with animated characters and lost interest in the ones with real actors. Once they were older, they watched both equally.

It would be interesting to hear what you’ve noticed with the youngsters in your life…whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, friend, or bookstore owner.