What is a picture book?

0Most often written for children

0 Content is conveyed through the use of words and pictures or through pictures alone.

0 Illustrations are an essential part of the structure of the book. They are as important as the text, if not more.

0Tend to be 32 pages because of how they are bound.

Picture Books @ CMPL

0We have 13,276 picture books at the Main Library.

0Out of 250,000 items at the Main Library, picture books account for 5%.

0Our picture storybook circulation accounts for 27% of children’s room circulation.

History of Picture Books

0 Picture books as we think of them today are a relatively new format.

0While illustrated books have been around for a long time, they used to have text on one side of a page and the illustrations on the other.

0 In the early 1900s, Wanda Gag created some of the first picture books. She mixed up the pictures and the text and paved the way for other picture book authors like Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Eric Carle.

From Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag1928

This is a cover. Important things that you will find on a book cover include:• Title• Author (who wrote it)• Illustrator (who drew the

pictures)• For kids’ books, there will be a

picture that shows what the story is about.

The cover is important! Kids will pick up, buy, or check out books with good covers. If it is boring, has ugly pictures, or looks torn or stained, kids will not take the book home.

This is a spine. Important things that you will find on a book bookinclude:• Title• Author (who wrote it)• Illustrator (who drew the

pictures)• A label at the bottom telling you

where the book is shelved. This one is shelved at E Cronin.

This is the front flap. It will usually include the price of the book in the top right corner. It will also tell you about the book. People read the front flap to decide if they want to read the whole book.

This is called the C.I.P. page. It will include information for book catalogers, such as the publisher, the date it was written, and any subjects included in the book. At the library we use this information to decide where a book should be shelved.

In picture books, this page will also include the dedication. Larger chapter books will give the dedication a separate page.

This is the title page. You will usually find it after 1 blank page at the beginning of a picture book. It will include the title, the author, the illustrator, and the publisher. Sometimes it includes a picture.

This is the back flap. It includes information about the author and the illustrator. Think of it like a mini biography.

This is the back cover. It sometimes includes a picture. The important part for libraries is the code at the bottom. This includes:• ISBN-13 digit number that

identifies each individual book title and format. We use this information when adding items to the catalog to make sure that we have the right one.

• Price

Board Books

0Made of cardboard pages

0Usually half the size of picture books

0Aimed towards 0-2 year olds

0They have their own section at CMPL

Board Book section @ CMPL• Notice the drawers at a

small child’s height. We want them to be able to pick out books too!

• Little tables and chairs in this area give them a chance to “read” their books.

Concept Books

0 Introduce kids to a theme, such as the alphabet, counting, colors, shapes, or opposites

0Aimed towards 2-8 year olds

0At CMPL, they are shelved in a separate section called Concept Books

Here at CMPL, we add special stickers or labels to the side of each picture book in the Concept Book section so you can easily pick out books based on a particular concept. Here are our labels:

Alpbabet

Counting Colors

Shapes

Opposites

Easy Readers

0Also called beginning or early readers

0Use less words on a page and many look like mini chapter books

0 Pictures function more as illustrations than as essential parts of the story

0Tend to be for 4-8 year olds

From Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Easy Readers @ CMPL• Split into 4 sections by

reading levels. Books are ER1, ER2, ER3, or ER4.

• Each side of the shelves is a different ER level

• ER1 is the easiest, while ER4 is the hardest

Nonfiction

0True books

0 For ages 3-12

0 Shelved by subject. You will see a J and a number on their spine to identify these books.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan RothJ598.71 R

Picture Storybooks

0These are your traditional picture books that don’t fit into any other category.

0The illustrations are at least as important as the text.

Wordless

0 Stories are told completely by pictures.