At Puku.co.za we love picture books and we’re noting the success and popularity of recent publications. Even more than that, we’re watching them being translated into our own languages so that everyone can enjoy them.
But why are picture books so important?
Check out this article from Psychology Today, explaining why picture books are important for the language skills of children, and babies, in Africa today.
The Importance of Picture Books
By: Vanessa LoBue Ph.D. – The Baby Scientist
August 2019
It probably won’t come as news to you that reading to children carries with it a lot of benefits, such as promoting language comprehension and literacy. According to 2016 statistics from Scholastic, 62% of parents with kids aged 3 to 5 read to their children most days, and most kids say that they like or love this special time with their parents. While reading to preschool-aged kids has clear and perhaps obvious benefits, there is evidence that reading to infants is also important, even reading to newborns.
In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents should begin reading to infants as soon as possible (High et al., 2014). This recommendation is based on classic research showing that children whose parents talk to them more have an advantage in school over children whose parents talk to them less (Hart & Risley, 1995).
The key difference seems to lie in… To read more see article here.
