What a good picture book!

What a good picture book!

1. Characteristics of picture books

   A picture book is defined as a medium that fully utilizes visual imagery to convey content through text and pictures. The first characteristic of a picture book created by combining text and pictures is that the meaning of hard words is visualized. Therefore, even children who cannot read yet can guess and understand the content by looking at the pictures. The reason children can intuitively understand content without special appointments or training is because they can utilize sufficient visual elements. The most important characteristic of a picture book is that the movement of a character and the relationship between space and time in which the character is moving can be sufficiently expressed through pictures.
   Second, most picture books for children capture the world of reality and imagination in a container called a story in a concrete and active way (Hillman, 1995). The world of children begins with everyday reality, but there is a world of play and a world of thoughts that goes far beyond reality. Children in the lower grades of elementary school can grow up strong and courageous when they can freely move between the two worlds of reality and imagination. This is because children can freely move between the two worlds, shake off the anxiety of the real world that surrounds them, accept the real world as it is, and gain new insights through the conflict and harmony of the two worlds. Picture books are a good medium that connects these two worlds and instills dreams and fantasies in children. In books for adults, there is no room to enter the world of play or thought. Entering the world of play and thought does not mean simple appreciation. Rather than staying at the level of understanding and appreciating picture books, they have the characteristic of allowing one to enter directly into the world of play and thought within the book and let one's imagination unfold to one's heart's content.
   Third, most picture books have short stories, simple content, and easy-to-understand themes. Just because a picture book is a book that creates images through pictures does not mean it is a book made for appreciating pictures. This is a book that unfolds the world of stories in children's minds using text and pictures. Therefore, picture books clearly have language that has a sense of reality, and as that language has rhythm, the world of the story unfolds. When there is a sense of rhythm in language and the story unfolds according to that rhythm, children experience the joy and fun of linguistic experience. However, when the length of the story becomes long, the content is complex, and the subject matter is difficult to understand, the language loses its sense of rhythm and the flavor of the language is lost. Therefore, the characteristic of most picture books is that they unfold the story but are written in an easy-to-understand and fun way based on the child's ideas and feelings.
   Fourth, picture books have ethical and educational characteristics. It is said that a good book never preaches, but rather conveys aspects of life as they are. However, picture books are the first books humans encounter in their lives, and considering the psychological and developmental characteristics of infants, books for adults and children must be different. Children who are just beginning to develop morality do not have the ability to think and look at things from various angles and from a broad perspective. Therefore, picture books cannot contain unethical or uneducational content.

2. Educational effects of picture books

  1) Why are picture books read?
  Why do people need books? This is because books are a linguistic medium that creates a consensus as a communal being living together. Therefore, books are a linguistic medium that communicates between people and their minds. By learning the language used to communicate with others, learning their behavior, and then analyzing them, you can smoothen your interactions with them. The ability to solve problems through indirect experience becomes the driving force of wisdom in life.

  2) Are children required to read picture books?
  In fact, showing a book to a child who does not even know letters means that the child may acquire knowledge or information through picture books and may use the picture book as a tool to learn Hangul quickly. However, the biggest reason is that picture books are not books for children to read alone, but books for children to understand the content by looking at the pictures while listening to the sound of an adult. Therefore, picture books are not books for children to read, but rather books to listen to and look at. Reading a picture book not only helps with the knowledge provided by the picture book or the child's cognitive development, but also helps children build their personality through emotional stability and bonding with their parents.
  There are cases where children like books because the content is interesting while reading, but rather than that, having enjoyable interactions with their mothers or caregivers through the medium of books has a better impact on children. I think everything else is secondary benefit.
   3) What are the characteristics of a child who reads a lot of picture books?
  First, a child who grew up listening to a lot of picture books is good at understanding what is said. In a way, this is natural, but because we are exposed to a variety of rich vocabulary along with pictures, our vocabulary becomes richer. As you look at pictures and listen to the story of the person reading the book, your thoughts grow and your associative ability to connect pictures and text to understand each other develops. In addition, thinking ability increases and intelligence develops through intellectual stimulation. And while reading a book, you discover the most precious experience, “the joy of reading a book.” If a reader is a child who reads books and experiences the joy of reading in infancy, that child will become a lifelong reader and be able to find and read good books on their own. Moreover, picture books can develop a child's aesthetic sense through beautiful pictures or colorful picture books.
 
  4) Characteristics of picture books
  So what are the characteristics of picture books that children enjoy reading?
  First, the movement of a character and the relationship between the space and time the character is in can be fully visualized through a painting.
  Second, most picture books for young children contain the world of reality and imagination in a concrete and active way in a container called a story.
  Third, most picture books have short stories, simple content, and easy to understand themes.
  Fourth, picture books have ethical and educational characteristics.
  Fifth, although picture books are expressed in text and pictures, they are essentially a world of language.

  5) The value of picture books
  First, picture books open our listening ears. When a picture book is read in the voice of a parent or caregiver, children listen to it.
  Second, children feel joy and fun from picture books read to them.
  Third, picture books stimulate imagination.
  Fourth, picture books enrich our emotional life.
  Fifth, picture books develop a sense of aesthetics.
  Sixth, picture books help us understand the world and neighbors around us.
  Seventh, picture books build confidence and self-control.
  Eighth, picture books naturally improve vocabulary.

3. Language development area of picture books

    Literature is closely related to language. Experience various genres, writing styles, and language forms through literary works. Specifically, aspects of language development through literature are as follows.
  First, we come into contact with the mature language of literary works. In other words, it provides an opportunity to understand a mature language through the experience of listening to a language with accurate syntactic structure and sentences composed of various forms. You learn vocabulary appropriate to the situation through picture books.
  Second, you can naturally learn new vocabulary through literary works and use language in accordance with mature grammar. You gain the ability to use literary language that goes beyond everyday language.
  Third, read books passionately and have a good listening attitude. You gain the ability to explore on your own and discover the joy of reading books with passion. The joy gained through fun also completes the proper listening attitude.
  Fourth, you learn reading and writing effectively through literary works. Children who gain concentration through the fun of listening read books on their own, and children who have mastered reading become able to write. You will be able to express the vocabulary of literary works you have heard in writing.
  Fifth, language can be used and enjoyed creatively and aesthetically. In other words, they encounter figurative and metaphorical language and enjoy the sounds and patterns of various languages.

4. How to read picture books

   The way to read a book may vary depending on the purpose of reading the book. The primary purpose of reading a picture book is the pleasure and pleasure of reading the picture book itself. Therefore, reading picture books should in itself be a source of pleasure and joy to children. Reading picture books should be different from other reading for studying. Reading picture books themselves should begin and end at the child's eye level. These are some methods to consider in picture book reading activities.
   First, you need to create a comfortable environment and set rules. When reading a picture book to a child, you must first create an atmosphere and environment so that the child can comfortably listen to the story (Cramer, 1975). You can set the time for reading picture books to children and the number of books to read. You can set rules to read to your child, such as reading a certain amount at a certain time every day. If you promise your child these rules, it is important to keep that promise. In fact, setting rules and reading to children at a set time is much more preferable than reading picture books according to need and situation. However, reading too many books at once is not good for reducing interest in picture books or reducing concentration. The exemplary practice of keeping promises must also be maintained when reading picture books.
   Second, do a picture book preview activity. Before reading a picture book to a child, you can utilize the child's diverse background knowledge through preliminary activities such as previewing. For example, before reading a picture book to a child, read the book while flipping through the pictures one by one. Children can read the story development process of a picture book through the development process of the pictures. These activities help children's thinking process to predict the contents of a picture book. In other words, the eye for seeing pictures develops. What needs to be taken care of here is that it must be differentiated from pre-reading activities for upper grades. In the case of lower grades, pre-reading activities allow children to experience their own feelings and emotions that naturally arise.
   Third, we must provide an audible language experience. What is important in reading picture books is not knowledge or information, but language experience. (Matsuida 2005). A good picture book has text and pictures that children can relate to.

It is a picture book containing The text in picture books helps children form their own images of the story. Children experience language at various levels through listening activities. Reading picture books allows children to experience literary language rather than their everyday language experience. Literary language has its own unique rhythm, feeling, and connection of images, giving children a delicate sense of language. It realistically reads the rhythm of onomatopoeia and mimetic words in picture books, allowing you to develop your sense of language through the sense of prosody of literary language.
   Fourth, you should not ask excessive questions. After reading a picture book to a child, as a post-reading activity, you can ask various questions about the content in the picture book and try to evaluate the child's understanding of the book through activities that ask about explicit things in the picture book and the child's responses. However, the primary purpose of reading picture books is its own enjoyment and joy. When reading picture books, asking excessive questions can actually reduce a child's interest. Excessive questions can interfere with a child's enjoyment and enjoyment of reading picture books, as well as his or her own unique appreciation. You should not try to confirm the language experience or reading experience you expect by reading picture books (Matsuida City 2005).
   Fifth, you should not force your feelings. We hope that children will have many feelings and emotions while reading picture books. If these expectations are excessive, reading picture books to children can force them to feel one way or another. Forcing certain emotions or feelings on children without allowing them to react naturally to the contents of a picture book can interfere with the enjoyment of listening. When reading a picture book to a child, you should adjust your voice or tone to fit the flow of the story to arouse the child's interest.
   Sixth, you should not intervene while reading a picture book. When reading a picture book, you should not intervene too much. The purpose of reading a picture book is to allow the child to encounter the picture book on their own, not for the adult reading the book to meet the child. When reading a picture book, it is not a person who simply explains or explains the picture book, but a person who helps the child encounter the picture book. Therefore, we must allow children to meet and enjoy the main characters in picture books.
   The primary value of a picture book is enjoyment and joy. Miscellaneous goals that are put forward out of greed can rob children of the original pleasure and joy of picture books. “The more reasons or purposes there are for reading picture books, the more often picture books turn into tools to harass children because they are not read with a light heart. Picture books should be endlessly enjoyable for children. Picture books are not textbooks. It's not even a workbook. Read the picture book from the child's perspective. (Matsuida 2005).”
   As in the world of picture books, children share their quirky and interesting thoughts together, creating new worlds, unique thoughts, flexible relationships, and the power of persuasion. It all starts with the ability to think deeply. It would be most effective to develop these abilities through picture books. Through reading picture books, children should be able to freely express their thoughts, come up with different ideas, communicate smoothly with others, express rich emotions, and demonstrate warm empathy.

Refer to Jeonbuk Education Portal.

By Celina Kim