The 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Why Picture Books Are Important
People need three things to survive – food, shelter, and wonder. That third need has been met for thousands of years through stories both as entertainment or as ways to share our history and culture. The manner of sharing stories may have evolved, but there is one constant – the quiet story time between parent and child. Picture books remain treasures for these moments.
But they are first and foremost tools for literacy. They teach structure, concepts, and social understanding. The best picture books share complex ideas, ideologies, and motivations through subtle delivery and layered interpretation. They teach language and communication skills which reach into all areas of our lives, not just in books, preparing children for the world ahead and giving them that extra advantage to succeed.
While technology may change how we absorb information in the future, right now, most of our society is still oriented on the book. And to understand a book, a child must be introduced to the concept at an early age. Picture books are that beginning and to my mind, will never be obsolete.
- Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
About Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Elizabeth O. Dulemba is an award winning author/illustrator of fifteen children’s books. She is also Illustrator Coordinator for the Southern SCBWI region, on the board of the Georgia Center for the Book, a writing and illustration instructor at various venues; and she speaks regularly at schools and events. Her latest picture book is The 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia (Sterling). In 2010, her “Coloring Page Tuesdays” garnered over 1.5 million visitors to dulemba.com.
Purchase 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba from Better World Books, a Picture Book Month partner. You are “doing good” with every book you buy from Better World Books.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Food, shelter, and wonder! I would like a tshirt that says that, please:) Lovely post!
Beautiful post, e.
I once had a 10 year old student who had never read picture books or had them read to him. Our mission became to expose him to books that he never read at home. Yet, he was brilliant. But War and Peace is not what a 5th grader should be reading.
We started a picture book unit focusing on the art and how the art and words worked together. We also started having the 5th grade read to the lower grades on a weekly basis. Happily my young very serious student started to love the books and realized that they weren’t for just babies. I know that my students loved reading to the little ones…probably because they had an excuse to have fun and discover or rediscover the joy that picture books can give to all of us.
HighDesertGal – What a wonderful story!
e
And a t-shirt Carter? Hmmm!
Excellent! Thanks for your words of wisdom.
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