A literature review on the benefits of wordless picture books for children’s development.

Authors

  • Claire Goriot Hogeschool KPZ
  • Wenckje Jongstra Hogeschool KPZ
  • Lotte Mensink Hogeschool KPZ

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2024.24.1.712

Keywords:

Wordless picture books, child development, literature review, childhood literacy, oral language development

Abstract

Wordless picture books contain no printed text, a narrative is conveyed solely through illustrations. Professionals are not always convinced of the usefulness of wordless picture books, and an overview of the benefits or disadvantages of these books is also lacking. The aims of this review study were to 1) investigate the benefits and/or disadvantages of wordless picture books for children’s development, and 2) provide an overview of the characteristics of research on using wordless picture books with children. A systematic search yielded 35 peer-reviewed articles on the use of wordless picture books with children (aged 0 to 12). These articles show that wordless books may benefit children’s speech and language development and their psychosocial development. Wordless books may also have a positive impact on children’s environment, which may in turn benefit child development. For example, adults seem to interact with wordless picture books in such a way that they provide the right preconditions for children’s language development. Research on wordless picture books is characterised by small-scale studies with young English-speaking children. Studies with larger and other participant groups are needed. Nevertheless, this study provides evidence that wordless picture books are a promising tool for benefiting children's development.

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Published

2024-11-18

How to Cite

Goriot, C., Jongstra, W., & Mensink, L. (2024). A literature review on the benefits of wordless picture books for children’s development . L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 24(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2024.24.1.712

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Section

Articles