Picture Books

I want to first start off by saying how weird it is that two of the books we discussed in class today were two of the picture books I read for my outside reading list: "Goodnight Moon," and "Make way for Ducklings."

I never realized just how important illustrations really are in children's storybooks. As we were discussing several picture books in class today it opened my eyes to the fact that illustrations are very important. The several times I've read "Goodnight Moon," I never really noticed what was missing in the text. The text just seemed to describe the setting, while the illustrations added to the setting, giving the reader a more in depth look at the setting as well as the characters. For example, in this book the reader is never told that the main characters are bunnies or that the little bunny is a boy; we have to determine this by looking at the pictures. When I read "Make way for Ducklings" the first time, I never really noticed anything missing from the text because the illustrations were right there to fill in the missing pieces and continue the story along. It's amazing to think that pictures can add so much to a story. In fact, illustrations can often times be more important than the text itself. From now on I will most likely look at the illustrations in picture books more in depth, in order to fully grasp what happens in the story.