Immense effort is invested into choosing books with realistic, colourful illustrations, especially for our younger children. Simcock and DeLoache (2006), in their article titled “Get the picture? The effects of iconicity on toddlers‟ reenactment from picture books” suggested that 2-year-olds learn best from realistic colour photos and colourful illustrations rather than black and white drawings. As children grow older, they develop better symbolic understanding. This is when abstract illustrations are more suitable.
What about books with lifts and flaps? Our team believes that these books might be suitable for younger children below the age of 4, as well as those with language impairments. The manipulative component of such books can increase engagement levels and lead to greater language expression. However, it might be distracting for older children. For more information on this topic, check out this article by The Hanen Centre: http://www.hanen.org/
Books at Little Llama are curated and recommended based on developmental stages and levels of ability, not strictly by age. They range from early concepts such as shapes, colours and body parts and progress to include more abstract concepts such as dealing with feelings and other world issues.
Most importantly, our team at Little Llama cares about helping every parent to harness the power of transforming reading time into a exhilarating learning journey. All our books come with unique reading and language tips, written by our in-house and consultant Speech and Language Therapists.
References
Kaderavek, J. & Sulzby, E. (1998). Parent-Child Joint Book Reading: An Observational Protocol for Young Children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 7(1), 33-47.
Simcock, G. & DeLoache, J. (2006). Get the picture? The effects of iconicity on toddlers' reenactment from picture books. Developmental Psychology 42(6), 1352-1357.
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