Like most children learning to read, I leaned heavily on illustrations to help me understand and enjoy stories. Images provided a bridge to comprehension when words were little more than mysterious hieroglyphs. But as I became more comfortable with the words and moved on to chapter books and novels in upper elementary school, I missed that extra layer of story the art had provided. It wasn’t as if illustrated novels didn’t exist when I was growing up — who doesn’t have fond memories of “Winnie the Pooh” or “The Wind in the Willows”? In the wide acceptance of graphic novels for children, in the inclusion of more art in books for elementary readers transitioning to novels, illustration is once again being championed beyond picture books.

Source: New York Times September 27, 2020 05:37 UTC