I found chapter three of the book “Children’s picturebook: The art of visual storytelling” very insightful, especially because of it focuses on the interaction between children and the images. In one’s childhood, pictures play a very important part, especially in relation to educational development. In chapter three of this book, Salisbury and Styles (2012) present pictures as a concept that fills the gap that exists between adults and children in terms of understanding the learnt content. In essence, the chapter has enabled me to understand that pictures make a very remarkable impression in the educational life of children. After reading the book, I am in agreement with the observations of Horning (2010); thatpicture booksrepresent the very stories that are told to adults through the written word. From an academic perspective, Salisbury and Style (2012) present pictures as a language suitable for the children to comprehend at their tender age. Indeed, the insight being reported here is that children respond to pictures. They ponder over the content and make judgments, and this explains why they may have different reactions to different pictures.

As part of the most insightful concept of chapter three, the authors expound on the interaction between a child and the picture book. Since the word power of the child has not developed as such, the visual power applied by the children in pictures is more thought-provoking for them. Indeed, Salisbury and Style observe that children look at the pictures in the books, read them, think about them, interpret them, and make conclusions about them. Through the pondering process, the children often experience challenges. However, since the children read and interpret the pictures, they rise against the challenges easily, anaction they find enjoying. The picture books are, therefore, enjoyable to the children. From the chapter, I have appreciated the fact that children react to picture books, enhancing their learning skills. The result is enhanced educational development.

Another aspect of the insightful concept of chapter three is that picture books bridge the gap between basic overview and scholarly texts. Indeed, a child’s cognitive skills can be stimulated by the use of pictures. From the insight that the two professors present in chapter three, it is clear that pictures promote independent thinking in the development of a child. As the child looks at the pictures, they are provoked into making independent interpretations. Such independent thinking prepares the child for future learning experiences. As Horning (2010) observes, children learn a lot through pictures, including the development of the plot. Additionally, the use of few words and pictures enables the children to understand how character and mood can be conveyed. In chapter three of their book, Salisbury and Styles observe that the use of picture books enables younger children to understand and interpret the character’s body language and understand visual metaphor. Additionally, the challenging pictures provokes the young children to think deeply, an action that is healthy for their intellectual development.

In sum, the most insightful concept in chapter three is the concept of the interaction between a child and pictures in a picture book. The authors gave the chapter the title “The picturebook and the child,’ and went ahead to discuss exactly that. Reading the chapter has enabled me to understand how a child benefits from the use of picture books. The children are provoked intellectually as they interpret the images, and they learn a lot in regard to plot development, the character’s mood and body language, among others. In essence, the use of picture books is very pivotal in the educational development of a child.

References

Horning, K.T. (2010).From cover to cover: Evaluating and reviewing children’s books (Rev.ed). New York, NY: Collins

Salisbury, M., & Styles, M. (2012).Children’s picturebooks: The art of visual storytelling. London, UK: Laurence King Publishing.