Reading picture books: resources for teachers
Illustrations, picturebook finding aids, and great picture book websites.
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Related pages
- Reading picture books: Two strategies for helping children understand a story through illustrations.
- Resources for looking at art: A guide to some of the best websites, activities, and print resources for building visual literacy through the study of art.
- Learning to look at art: Strategies for helping students develop visual literacy in looking at paintings and other forms of visual art.
Related topics
- Learn more about children's literature, fine art, illustrations, picture books, and visual literacy.
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Illustrated Children’s Books Online
Picturing books
Picturing Books, a website by Denise I. Matulka, provides the essential core information about picture books as a genre. Resources include the anatomy of the picture book, defining the parts from endpapers to wraparound covers, as well as a information about art and design of picturebooks. The site, formerly known as Imaginary Lands, has a database of picturebooks that was created because the team at Picturing Books feels “there is a lack of quality resources exploring the art of the picture book.” The site includes a review section where reviews of picture storybooks and professional reading can be found. Some resources on the site are by subscription only.
Childrens Book Collections
International Children’s Digital Library
The International Children’s Digital Library is a landmark digitization project designed to extend the reach of picture books and make the most of digital access and innovative multimedia presentation online.
Cotsen Children’s Library
Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton is like most special collections of picture books — you really need to go there to see the books. Most library collections have searchable catalogs or lists of significant works held in that library but few have any online access to these books. The Cotsen site has a virtual library exhibit in the planning stages so perhaps soon access to digital images from the collection will be available.
Teacher Tools
Children’s Literature Web Guide
The place to start for locating information about children’s book authors, books for children or young adults, book awards, and many related resources in the Internet. This site is built and maintained by David K. Brown of the Doucette Library of Teaching Resources at the University of Calgary.
The de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection — Children’s Literature Web Guide
One of the leading children’s literature research centers, the de Grummond Collection provides a list of websites that can help teachers find great literature for children and young adults. Also check out other sections on the site for authors and illustrators on the Web, out of print book dealers, and much more.
Writing, Illustrating and Publishing Children’s Books
Picturing Childhood
This site provides historical context for the "Evolution of the Illustrated Children’s Book." Written by Cynthia Burlingham, this site covers the history of the publishing of children’s books, movable and pop-up books, and notable illustrators and authors who contributed to the now-burgeoning field of children’s literature.
Page by Page
What is the creative process, from start to finish, in making a picture book? Page by Page, published by the National Library of Canada, chronicles the character development, storyboarding, writing, illustrating and even publication details for two different titles. Student activities and lesson plans about the process are included.
