Board Books to Graphic Novels: Reading With Pictures
Did you know? The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
Maybe that’s why we love sending emojis. It’s likely why illustrations are a key component of early literacy and the enjoyment of reading for all ages.
On a recent trip to the Denver Art Museum, I came across this ancient storytelling box from India, called a kavad. I wonder, if the colorful wooden panels were full of words, even if they were in English, whether I would have been so charmed.
It got me thinking about the use of illustrations in books both ancient and modern.
The art of storytelling with the kavad is at least 400 years old and was a way for storytellers traveling from village to village to add visual interest, drama, and suspense to their stories, opening and closing the doors of the box and showing the panels one at a time.
We do the same today, as we can see in this photo of former First Lady Michelle Obama reading with a group of kids.
We know from our own experiences as readers that pictures help tell a story. Research bears out that picture books help build reading skills in a number of ways. Children can practice sounding out the language using the pictures as their guide. Making predictions about a what a word might be by looking at the picture gives the early reader some hints and encourages active engagement. And kids love discovering clues in the illustrations that tell them about what might happen further along in the story.
Illustrations also inspire visual thinking and imagination. Perhaps best of all, the pictures make the act of reading fun, often causing laugh-out-loud moments – and who doesn’t need more opportunities for the giggles when interacting with a child!
Children’s author Emma Middleton writes, “Illustrations provide young readers with an immediate vision of the characters, setting, and mood of the story.”
Middleton goes on to say, “Children instantly respond to characters from their visual appeal.”
You might have some characters from illustrated books you love. Classics like Winnie-the-Pooh, Howard (and his purple crayon), or Horton the elephant might come to mind. There are also new friends like the little girl, Zuri, with hair that has a mind of its own, in the recently published book, Hair Love, by Matthew Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison.
If you think illustrations are just for kids, when was the last time you attended a power point presentation where every slide was a block of words? Boring! A good presenter uses illustrations of all kinds to get their point across.
Pictures say more with less, even if it’s not quite a thousand words.
Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Illustrated reading has never been just for kids. From their golden age in the 1940-50’s, comic books have been widely read and enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Comic books, making a huge come back with the release of many movies based on comic book stories, are often stepping stones to other forms of reading for children, teens and adults who find them engaging.
Related, graphic novels are also very popular among all readers. Traditional literary prose combined with illustrative panels, graphic novels often can assist middle-skill readers with comprehension. Since many graphic novels are released in series, readers must retain long storylines and complex character development.
The popularity of graphic novels is no joke. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the beloved graphic novel series by Jeff Kinney, has sold more than 250 million copies. Other favorites include Dav Pilkey‘s Captain Underpants series, (a clear correlation to comic book super heroes) and Raina Telgemeir‘s many titles, the first of which is Smile.
The gift for graphic novel readers comes as children grow into teens and adults. Here again, the market is growing. Sales of comics and graphic novels rose 62% in 2021 over 2020, according to a recent Publisher’s Weekly report.
Many graphic novels for adults tackle difficult subjects, using illustrations to engage the reader’s emotions and spark insights. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi explores coming of age in Iran after the Islamic revolution. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel tells the story of growing up queer in a dysfunctional family. Kindred, by Damian Duffy is a graphic-novel adaptation of the Octavia E. Butler‘s classic, depicting the violence and disturbing effects of slavery.
Grabbing headlines that resulted in skyrocketing sales, the graphic novel Maus, by Pulitzer-prize-winning author/artist Art Spiegelman about surviving the Holocaust, was banned by a school board in Tennesee. The beauty of the graphic novel is that it is a graphic interpretation, which sometimes results in disturbing images, but as Spiegelman states, “This is disturbing history.”
Clearly, images are provocative. That’s why they have been part of storytelling for hundreds of years.
Whether you are reading a picture book to a child or reading a graphic novel for your own enjoyment, the images inspire a love of reading, of story and of characters and art.
There will be tables of graphic novels, as well as every genre for all ages, available free at the Back-to-School Book Give-Away on August 27th. Not just for kids, we intend to give away more than 3,000 books at this public outdoor event. If you haven’t tried graphic novels yet, here’s your chance to pick up a few to try – all free.
(Also this year – NEW – tons of teacher supplies! Spread the word to the teachers you know.)
This blog contributed by BookGive volunteer, author Phyllis Lundy.
