A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they ...
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are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images in picture books can be produced in a range of media, such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor, and pencil. Picture books often serve as pedagogical resources, aiding with children´s language development or understanding of the world.
Three of the earliest works in the format of modern picture books are Heinrich Hoffmann´s Struwwelpeter from 1845, Benjamin Rabier´s Tintin-Lutin from 1898 and Beatrix Potter´s The Tale of Peter Rabbit from 1902. Some of the best-known picture books are Robert McCloskey´s Make Way for Ducklings, Dr. Seuss´s The Cat In The Hat, and Maurice Sendak´s Where the Wild Things Are. The Caldecott Medal (established 1938) is awarded annually for the best American picture book. Since the mid-1960s, several children´s literature awards have included a category for picture books.
