The Importance of Pictures in Early Childhood Reading Books

Why are pictures important?

For most of us, reading has become as automatic as blinking or breathing. We forget how unfamiliar and strange the letters of the alphabet are to a child who doesn’t know how to read. Children being taught to decode letters for the first time feel like we do when we look at Egyptian hieroglyphics!

If a child learning to read is anything like a child learning to ride a bicycle, think of those bright, detailed pictures as your child’s training wheels for reading. They aren’t just there to look pretty; they do the heavy lifting while your little one is still figuring out what those squiggly black lines (letters) mean. 

Here is how those eye-catching visuals actually work behind the scenes:

1. Pictures are “secret translators”:

When a child sees a picture of an apple next to the word “apple,” her brain makes an instant connection. Before he/she can sound out the word, the child “reads” the image, which builds confidence and keeps them from getting frustrated.

(An important tip: PARENTS! Remember to use the soft sounds of the letters when first reading with your child. Aa sounds soft, like the a in apple – not the AY that is the name of the letter, not its sound!)

Pictures turn an intimidating page of text into something children can see and understand. By carefully examining a picture and talking about it in advance, children already have an understanding of what the text is about. When a newly introduced word appears in the text, the child will often recognise it because of the context set by the picture.

Before children have accumulated many sight words, and when they are still struggling to sound out the words, the pictures do the main work in telling the story. In early childhood reading books like the Sunrise Readers, children will be able to fill in many details for the story by “reading” the picture. We call this “Picture Power”.

(Tip: Always spend time looking at the picture with your child. Ask questions beginning with Who? Where? What? When? Why? How?)

2. Pictures build a “story map”:

Pictures help children keep track of what’s happening. They can see the beginning, middle, and end just by flipping the pages. This teaches them logic and sequencing—essential skills for when they eventually tackle longer chapter books. 

3. Pictures teach “reading between the lines”

Detailed illustrations often show things the words don’t say.

• Emotions: A character might say they are “fine,” but the picture shows them looking sad or angry. This helps your child develop empathy and emotional intelligence.
• Clues: Kids love spotting hidden details in the background. This builds focus and teaches them to make “clever guesses” (inferences) about what might happen next. 

4. Pictures are “vocabulary boosters”:

Books often use words we don’t use in everyday conversation (like “enormous” instead of “big”). A clear, colourful picture of something enormous makes that new word stick much better than a simple definition ever could. 

Sunrise Readers intentionally contract different artists to expose our young learners to different styles of artwork. Just as with adults, different styles of artwork appeal to different children. And different styles of artwork appeal to children as they mature. We regularly get much appreciated feedback from teachers and parents about how bright and attractive and detailed our pictures are, and how much the children enjoy them.

Enjoy more of our pictures by clicking on the link below:

Acknowledgements: The pictures in this blog are from the Sunrise Readers, except for the AI generated photo of the child trying to read Chinese, Arabic and Scandinavian text.