Encouraging children and adults to value and enjoy sharing picture books is the aim of new children's laureate Anthony Browne, whose popular books include Gorilla, Little Beauty and Willy the Wimp. The award-winning author and illustrator is concerned that we are turning into a 'visually illiterate nation'.
'I think that some parents are pushing their children quicker and quicker to move away from picture books on to what they call "proper books" because they think educating their children is about moving on to words and leaving picture books behind them,' he says.
'I think a rounded child, and a rounded person, should read both pictures and words. I think picture books are so special and there is such a bond between a parent and child, or carer and child, when sharing picture books. It is not just about reading pictures or words, it is all about the interaction between the two of them. They can look at the pictures and look at the associations and spin-offs, and things in the pictures can be many-layered.'
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