In our home, we LOVE reading, as you already know. We have a plethora of books in our home library. I also have several baskets around the house with various picture books in them.
I simply love picture books. When I first began homeschooling, I started using our library quite a bit. Using the libraries website, I can easily search for books about different topics I want to teach my children, and it will bring up tons of titles, with pictures and a description of that title to help me decide whether or not I want to place it on hold.
Whilst doing this over the years, I have discovered that picture books have a wonderful way of teaching, that's different from other books. While I LOVE a good, thick, meaty book to read aloud, a big stack of picture books can be just as satisfying.
When looking for good picture books, there ARE a few things to keep in mind.
1. Make sure the book isn't watered down (twaddle as Charlotte Mason would put it).
That the story is descriptive, exciting, and filled with rich vocabulary.
2. Check out the illustrations in the book. Are they suitable? Are they thought provoking?
3. Read up on the authors. You can learn a lot by reading an author's profile.
4. Make sure the topics written in the book will interest your child. It's fine to introduce new ideas and topics, but do it with good, well written books so that your child/children don't get bored.
There are lots of things we've learned by reading pictures books, that we otherwise wouldn't have. For example, when studying the liberal arts, we have read many interesting picture books about famous artists with some of their paintings illustrated throughout the book. Just as we have read about many composers with illustrations of their homes, the dress of the period they lived in, and so on. This really gives you a lot of insight into their lives and you can actually see what it all looked like. (this is why it's important to research a bit on an author, making sure they have their facts right!)
We have checked out, and bought, picture books about gardening, cooking, animals, trees, flowers, science, math, other countries and cultures, states, birds, habitats, seasons, houses, farms, holidays, etc...all with WONDERFUL illustrations!
Some of our favorite authors are: Allen Say, Cynthia Rylant, Eric Carle, Ed Young, Patricia Polacco, Dr. Seuss, James Herriot, William Steig, Arnold Lobel, Barbara Cooney, Tasha Tudor, Beatrix Potter, Shirley Hughes, Anita Lobel, Audrey Wood, Chris Van Allsburg, Lauren Child, Helen Cooper, Lois Lowsky, Eileen Spinelli, Will Moses, Virginia Lee Burton, Roald Dahl, Lois Ehlert, Eve Bunting, Robert McCloskey, Don Freeman, Ezra Jack Keets, Allan Ahlberg, Marjorie Flack, Margaret Wise Brown, A.A. Milne, Tomie de Paola, Enid Blyton, Jim Arnosky, Lynne Cherry, and Mem Fox, just to name a FEW! LOL
We LOVE picture books! Even though we have a whole houseful, we can't get enough. The librarians know us by name, and we have maxed out at least two to three libraries cards per visit! HA!
So, what about you and yours? Do you love picture books? If so, what are some of your favorites?
I love picture books! My favorites are the ones by Beatrix Potter, A.A. Milne and Tasha Tudor, though I wish I had more of hers. I would also love to have more James Herriot. I had a copy of "Moses the Kitten" when my older children were small, but my daughter took that one with her when she was expecting my granddaughter. I was happy to let her take it as she wanted to pass along a beloved bit of her childhood. Making warm memories is the BEST part of sharing our love of books. I really enjoyed your post! Hope you have a beautiful week!
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