We have been asking children’s writers, illustrators, lecturers and journalists:
‘Are picture books for children, or adults can enjoy them just as much?’
Below you will find more answers:
Picture books are for EVERYONE!
Picture books are for EVERYONE! I weep with dismay when I hear “grown-ups” ushering little ones away from picture books because they are too big for them.
- The Book Sniffer introduces itself as: ‘A blog for the unashamed book sniffing community.’
A picture book is a charming and unique art form
I personally feel the 32 page picture book is a charming and unique art form which I esteem as highly as the Shakespearean sonnet or the perfect two minute popular song. A great, or even a fairly good one, should be a delight to read (and look at) again and again, without one tiring of it. I would hope that any reasonably intelligent and liberal minded person might vaguely agree with me. The saddest thing would be a child of, say, nine or ten feeling (or even worse, being told) that picture books are for little kiddies only, and that they should move on to more “advanced” books.
- Colin is an author.
Whatever their age, the audience can take something away from a picture book
Picture books are for everyone. Whatever their age, the audience can take something away from the book-whether it is a beautiful story, some amazing illustrations, a great baddie or just a happy ending. The very best books work on many levels.
- Holly is a Childrens’ book illustrator.
Picture books make adults reconsider their own ides and views
Reading picture books is often a joint activity between the child and a parent. As a parent myself, I select books for my son that I think he will enjoy and those that also appeal to me. This may be an aesthetic reason, the humor of the book, or simply that I enjoyed the book when I was a child. Picture books have the ability to communicate a huge range of subjects both entertaining and challenging and they can often help adults communicate these issues with small children and make the adult reconsider their own ideas and views.
- Andy is illustrator and lecturer.
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Others’ responses:
- Read Jackie Morris’s answer here.
- Read Pam Dix’s answer here
- Read Vivian French’s answer here.
- Read SF Said’s answer here
- Read Viviane Schwarz’s answer here
- Read David Litchfield’s answer here
- Read Emily Drabble’s answer here.
- Read Pippa Goodhart’s answer here.
- Read Nicolette Jones’s answer here
- Read Nicola Davies’s answer here
- Read John Shelley’s answer here
- Red Piers Torday’s answer here
- Read Bridget Marzo’s answer: here
- Read Natalie smillie’s answer here
- Read Zoe Toft’s answer: here
- Read Ehsan Abdollahi’s answer: here
- Read Celestine and the Hare’s answer here.
- Read Frank Cattrell-Boyce’s answer here.
- Read Emmi Smid’s answer here.
- Read Tamsin Rosewell’s answer here
- Read Anahita Teymorian’s answer here
- Read Azita Rassi’s answer here
- Read Jessica Shepherd’s answer here
- Read Jill Bennett’s answer here
- Read Suzanne Carpenter’s answer here
- Read Mathew Tobin’s answer here
- Read Chris Meade’s answer here
- Read Miriam Halahmy’s answer here
- Read Anna Perera’s answer here
- Read Kenilworth books’ answer here
- Read Eric Heyman’s answer here
- Read Robyn Ridley’s answer here
- Read Abi Elphinstone’s answer here
- Read Chris Robertson’s answer here
- Read Mary Roche’s answer here
- Read Joe Craig’s answer here
- Read Joanna Halpin’s answer here
- Read Sarah Yewman’s answer here
- Read Michelle Robinson’s answer here
- Read Mélanie McGilloway’s answer here
- Read Lu Hersey’s answer here
- Read Anne Thompson’s answer here
- Read Books My Toddlers Love Blog’s answer here
- Read Mummy Vs Daddy Blog’s answer here
- Read Kate Alizadeh’s answer here
