The use of language
Usually picture books are composed of words and pictures (except books without words). Good picture books and pictures play a powerful role. On the one hand, characters should strive to maintain their position, on the other hand, they are subject to quite strict constraints. The writing part of picture books is similar to poetry, and the best works are often poetic. For example, Courage is like a witty epigram poem, My Dad is like a warm children's poem, Taste of the Moon is like a fantastic fairy tale poem, and Grandma Hua is like a narrative prose poem. Is it useless to read poetic and imaginative language to children often? Mr. Song Juzhi said that many children often have the ability to "eat language" between the ages of two and five.
A particularly fun picture book can not only help children learn their mother tongue, but also help them learn a foreign language. If you don't believe me, please read Dr. Seuss to your children.
The use of art
Excellent picture books are often beautiful. They not only "look beautiful", but also show the styles of different artists and their lofty pursuit of art. In this year's list of works, it can be said that each book represents a different style, and most of them are top works of this style. Let's start with Little Blue and Yellow, which is the first and most representative picture book by Leo Leoni, an abstract master. Leoni is regarded as a top player in the fields of pure artistic creation, graphic design and picture books. He once said that the first page of this picture book is the most perfect page of all his works of art. You can look at this painting, it's amazingly simple! Why is it called "perfect"? I think it may be so. The artist thinks that it expresses his creative intention most accurately in the most appropriate form and technique. This is probably the highest state of art.
Some people may say, I wonder if children can "understand"? But I can at least be sure that they like it and are fascinated. If you really love beautiful works of art, do you still need to "understand"?
For the diversified development of children
Nowadays, parents and educators are more and more willing to accept the view that children's intellectual development is diversified, not limited to language and mathematical logic, but at least includes space, music, body, interpersonal communication, introspection and natural observation. In order to encourage reading picture books, some researchers try to prove that sharing picture books with children can also promote the development of their multiple intelligences. According to this research idea, in addition to the most common language and spatial intelligence, such as the smell of the moon, crocodiles fall in love with giraffes and so on. "Ballet with Bigfoot" in interpersonal intelligence, "A Leaves" in musical intelligence, and "A Leaves" in natural observation and introspective intelligence obviously have unique promoting functions.
In addition to multiple intelligences, some researchers have pointed out that picture book reading is also helpful to the development of children's "multiple literacy" only in language-based cultural learning.
A sound personality and the use of a happy life
However, other researchers emphasize that it is more important to share picture books with children, in order to help children build a sound personality and lay a good spiritual foundation for lifelong happiness. They can learn to face life bravely with a humorous attitude (such as courage), learn to accept their so-called "defects" positively and frankly (such as Bigfoot Ballet), learn to fully enjoy warm affection and friendship (such as my dad and Xiao Lanhuang), try to understand the power and secret of love (such as crocodile falling in love with giraffe), and learn to work as a team.
For a happy family.
Mr. Song Juzhi often reminds us: Please treat picture books as books for adults to read to children! If you can keep this in mind and share it with your children persistently, you will also get full fun from it. Then, as the fairy tale often says, "They lived happily ever after." ...
Useless use
Many functions of picture books have been mentioned above, and there are many more if time permits. But to be honest, this topic is quite difficult for me, because in my mind, the greatest use of picture books lies in its "uselessness".
The better the picture book, the less you can define its purpose; And the more useless it is to share with children, the more useful it may be.
The biggest advantage of picture books is that they can help children fall in love with reading. This kind of love is the kind of great love, love yourself, love others, love life and love the world.
I also hope that I and my children can walk Wan Li Road in thousands of books like that flower mother-in-law. When they are old, they can live in beautiful places they like, and at the same time, they can do one thing: make the world more beautiful.
Yes, because of holding such a beautiful wish and doing such beautiful things together, over the years, those children's reading promoters-we are also honored to belong to them-have been addressed as "Hua", "Hua Dad", "Hua Aunt", "Hua Uncle", "Hua Sister" and "Hua Brother" ...
I can definitely say that reading picture books is beneficial to a child's happy life. For an adult, reading picture books can enrich life; For groups, reading picture books together is beneficial to a harmonious society.