Celebrate Picture Book Month Every November

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It’s Picture Book Month!

That’s right, we may spend more and more of our time in the digital world, but printed books still have their place.

That includes printed picture books.

Turning the pages of a real book is just more satisfying than swiping or tapping. And this month we celebrate kids getting lost in the story each real, printed page tells.

Author and storyteller Dianne de Las Casas founded this international literacy initiative. Her 4 co-founders are:

• Katie Davis
• Elizabeth O. Dulemba
• Tara Lazar
• Wendy Martin

 

Sadly Ms. Casas died from a fire at her home in August 2017. But we’re quite sure she’d want the month she founded to endure.

 

Print Books vs Ebooks

Of course, picture books can come in digital form, too. And you can fit thousands of them on one little e-reader.

So why are we celebrating only physical picture books this month?

Well, the short answer is that’s what the founders decided!

But you might be surprised to learn many (many!) people prefer real books. It might not seem that way, since ebook and e-reader sales exploded around 2008. But despite predictions of physical books’ demise, ebooks haven’t done too much damage.

In fact, in recent years ebook sales have slowed. And physical books do have some advantages over digital ones.

E-Books vs. Print: What Parents Need to Know discusses the advantages of each kind of book. The author concludes that both kinds can be beneficial for kids.

And a report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center explores how parent-child co-reading differs between print books, basic ebooks, and enhanced ebooks. Not surprisingly, with ebooks there’s more non-book related conversation. For example, parents may comment on how the child is using the device.

And, although we’re talking about picture books for this celebration, a 2016 Pew Research Survey shows more people reading print books than ebooks.

It turns out college students prefer print books, too. That seems surprising when you think about how addicted to their devices young adults seem to be.

It’s less surprising when you realize one of their main reasons for preferring print books is the lack of distractions in a print book. After all, the only thing you can do with a book is read it! On a phone or computer you can easily switch to any number of other activities.

So yes, print picture books are definitely worth celebrating.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this holiday.

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Celebrating Picture Book Month

Learn more about Picture Book Month and find activity ideas on the month’s official website.

Visit each day to read the daily essays from different authors/illustrators discussing why picture books are important. And keep track of who’s essays are coming up (and the daily theme) with the printable calendar.

 

Parents

If your kids are at the picture book age, get them some new ones to enjoy this month. Have they read these?

Picture books by Denise Fleming (she also has activities related to each book on her website):

• Mama Cat Has Three Kittens: A fun look at a day in the life of a mama cat and her kittens, one of whom is just a bit different. (check out the Activities)
• 5 Little Ducks: An irresistible adaptation of the classic nursery rhyme. (See the printable activities here)
• Buster: Buster the dog’s world is turned upside down by a new kitten! (Find Buster activities here).

 

Science picture books:

• The Emperor Lays an Egg: The story of how the dad penguin protects the egg while mom finally gets to eat, and then how the baby penguin grows up.
• Just Ducks!: A young girl is fascinated by the ducks near her home and shares what she learns about them.
• Hide and Seek, Nature’s Best Vanishing Acts: See how different animals can hide in plain sight. The pictures challenge your kids (and you!) to find the hidden animal without looking at the answer in the back of the book.

 

Picture books by Katie Davis (one of the Picture Book Month co-founders):

• I Hate to Go to Bed!: The girl in this story believes her parents have parties after she goes to bed. So she tries to stay up to find out.
• Little Chicken’s Big Christmas: A new book with Little Chicken (of Little Chicken’s Big Day), who’s very excited about his big Christmas plans.
• Party Animals: It’s a surprise birthday party in the barnyard!

 

Schools/Daycares

Download the PBM Teacher’s Guide (PDF) for tons of classroom activity ideas.

You may also want to download posters, flyers, bookmarks, and more from the
Picture Book Month promo kit.

 

Writers

Plan to participate in Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) in January.

Wait, when? January? If you’ve heard of this before (and even if you haven’t), you might be wondering why January instead of November.

Well, from 2009 through 2015, it did run in November, along with Picture Book Month. The idea of PiBoIdMo is to come up with one idea each day. It could be an interesting character, fun title, or any idea to help launch a potential story. At the end of the month you have 30 ideas to build on.

In September, 2016 Tara Lazar (PiBoIdMo’s creator) announced changes to the time, scope, and even the name of the month. She renamed it Storystorm, and if she follows last year’s schedule, registration will be in mid-December. So check back with her blog (or subscribe) to keep up to date!

So will you and your child be celebrating Picture Book Month this year? What’s your child’s favorite picture book?

 

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