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A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for young kids these days, it appears that a thousand words may be replacing pictures. According to a recent article in the New York Times, picture books are losing their must-read status these days, with publishers putting out fewer titles and sales lagging at bookstores.
According to the article, the crummy economy is partly to blame. (Hey, those illustrated hardcover books are expensive!) But another contributing factor is, well, us. “Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books,” reporter Julie Bosman writes.
I confess: My husband and I have started reading the occasional chapter book to our almost-four-year-old son, like Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s not that we’re trying to make him smarter. In most cases, it’s because we truly think he’ll enjoy the (sometimes edited version of the) story -- and because, selfishly, these books can be more enjoyable for mom and dad to recite than the 9,000th reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (Which is still a favorite in our house.)
Still, chapter books are the exception, not the norm, in our house, and our bedtime routine is heavy on Dr. Seuss classics and Curious George as well as new favorites like Alice Schertle’s charming Little Blue Truck and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way and Jon Scieszka’s Truckery Rhymes. (Notice a theme here?)
And for me, that’s part of the appeal of a picture book: You can easily indulge your child’s obsession of the moment, whether it’s diggers, dinosaurs or dancing bears, in a way that’s visually fun for them. There’s a thrill in discovering a beautifully illustrated, cleverly written book that captures your kid’s interest and imagination over and over again, whether it’s a brand-new title or a classic that you yourself loved as a child.
So keep the faith, The Little Engine That Could. When it comes to entertaining and educating kids, I still think you can.
Do you buy picture books for your kid? Chime in below!
