Photographs are twice as effective as illustrations in helping young children learn and develop their behaviour, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that 36 children aged 18 months were able to mimic the actions of a character in a book twice as well from photos than from coloured pencil drawings.
The full findings, to be published by the American Psychological Association, suggest illustrated books are better at entertaining toddlers than educating them.
But the National Literacy Trust has reportedly said illustrations form a central part of children’s learning, beyond the role of purely mimicking an action.
“Maybe if you want to instruct a child to do something, a clear picture is better,” the trust told The Daily Telegraph.
“A child will learn in the pure sense of the word. But if you want to tell a story, and stimulate the imagination, how dull is a photograph of a series of posed ‘fairies’ in a fairytale, for example?”
Apr 17, 2007
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