Running head: EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 1

The Effects of Picture Books on Reading Comprehension

Bridget Delaney

Franciscan University of Steubenville

EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 2

Introduction

Modern day teachers are continually teaching various kinds of reading comprehension

strategies to students of all ages. Comprehension may be considered by many as the “essence of

reading” (Reutzel & Cooter, 2012, p. 259), as it is the act by which meaning is communicated

from a text to a reader. In order for teachers to ensure that comprehension is taking place among

all their students, they must first consider what promotes or encourages comprehension (Baird,

Laugharne, Maagero, & Tonnessen, 2016). In other words, what bridges the gap between prior

knowledge and new knowledge that allows for full understanding of a text to take place?

(Reutzel & Cooter, 2012). There are likely many routes a student may take that will lead to

proper reading comprehension, but one is a tool that has been sitting under teachers’ noses, so to

speak, for quite some time, and that is picture books. It is clear that picture books typically offer

beautiful imagery, rich text, and fun storylines, however, to what extent do they have an impact

on reading comprehension?

Purpose

Picture books are not a new or uncommon tool in elementary classrooms. Any teacher

who has read a picture book to a group of young students has likely been able to witness their

interest and fascination in the book. However, how do teachers know whether this initial interest

or fascination leads to a full comprehension of the story? In the past, I have witnessed this

fascination in picture books in my younger sister with Down syndrome as well as students I have

encountered through pre-service teaching experiences. Oftentimes this fascination develops into

what appears to be comprehension of a story, whether it be through words or the ways in which

these children incorporate portions of a story into their play. However, teachers may wonder
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 3

where comprehension of a story developed from, and how it may differ if students were read a

different type of book. Through my research, I plan to answer the question: How do picture

books affect reading comprehension?

One goal I hope to achieve through this research is to gain knowledge through the

collection of survey answers from teachers who have had experience in Pre-K-5th grade

classrooms, as well as parents who have homeschooled their children in the elementary grades.

In my survey, I plan to ask questions that relate to my research question. More specifically, I

hope to learn how reading comprehension of picture books may differ from comprehension of

pictureless books. Through this survey, I hope to better understand whether the participating

teachers and parents have noticed a significant difference in reading comprehension among their

students through the use of picture books.

It is my prediction that my research will indicate that picture books have a positive

effect on the reading comprehension of young students. It is clear that picture books enhance

most children’s engagement and interest. In many cases, one must experience interest in order to

fully comprehend a text. Therefore, I predict that through the nature of how picture books affect

children’s fascination positively, it will be indicated that they also affect children’s reading

comprehension positively.

Review of Literature

In a recent study, Rosalina (2017) specifically researched the effects picture storybooks

have on the reading comprehension of students learning to read, and further, how to successfully

employ picture books in the instruction of reading. The methodology used for this study was an

experimental research that involved observations, questionnaires, reading tests, and interviews.
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 4

These methods were conducted on 15 students chosen at random, who were then separated into

two groups: an experimental group and a control group. All students were given a pre-test to

detect prior knowledge and a post-test after the experiment concluded. During the experiments,

the control group was given reading instruction without the use of picture books, while the

experimental group was given reading instruction with the use of picture books. The results of

the study indicated that the experimental group was better able to answer comprehension

questions and share thoughts that indicated a clear understanding of the book than did the control

group. They also demonstrated a greater general interest in reading and received higher scores on

the post-test than the control group.

The author of this article posed a simple, yet interesting question, and likewise conducted

a relatively simple experiment. I found this article to be worthy because through the various

methods the author used to collect data, she was able to establish scoring from “very poor” to

“excellent” among all the students, which provided evidence that the students in this particular

study who made use of picture books, generally did demonstrate better reading comprehension.

Something I found to be more unfavorable about this article was the way in which the tables

containing scoring were organized. They included many unusual acronyms, requiring me to

examine them in great detail in order to understand the data. This study is relevant to my

research because it approaches the same research question as my own in a simple and

straightforward method, and provides clear and positive results. As suggested in the conclusion

of this study, it would be interesting and beneficial to discover how picture books could be

implemented in other subject areas such as writing, social studies, and science, and if they are

just as effective as they are in reading classes. Additionally, it would be interesting to study how
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 5

reading comprehension levels may differ when the pictures in a picture book contradict with

what is happening in the story. For example, if the words in a book describe a happy story, but

the pictures are somber and dark, I wonder how well the readers would be able to describe the

main idea of the happy story.

Because picture books are most traditionally used in early elementary classrooms,

teachers often have their students interact with picture books through a read aloud. There are

many useful comprehension strategies that students may use when reading a book of any type,

but are there any differences in the way they engage with a picture book that is read to them

during an interactive read aloud? Braid and Finch (2015) conducted a study to further examine

this question. They first studied the works of Lawrence Sipe, a researcher and theorist dedicated

to examining the ways children understand stories through picture books. Then, in their own

studies, Braid and Finch referred to Sipe’s theoretical model called “The Five Facets of Literary

Understanding”. This model was then adapted to a framework which included different ways

children respond in literary understanding. It includes three categories: hermeneutic, which

involves developing an understanding of a story, personal, which involves the way a child is able

to relate a story to his or her own life, and aesthetic, which involves the encounter one has with

art. Through their research, the authors sought to understand whether the adapted framework of

Sipe could be applied to the participants in their own study when they engaged in a picture book

read aloud. There were 25 total participants, ages 9-10 and all from a mid socio-economic area in

New Zealand. The 25 students were divided into five groups, each group participating in one

interactive read aloud using the book ​Luke’s Way of Looking.​ The children were invited to share

their thoughts and ideas all throughout the reading of the book, rather than all at the end. The
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 6

researchers recorded their responses and then applied them to the categorical framework to

determine the variance, frequency, and quality of different demonstrations of understanding. The

findings of this study were that the overall comprehension displayed by the students increased

throughout the story as the students thoughtfully engaged with images and listened to others’

responses. The researchers believe, based off of the many comments students made on the

pictures, that picture books require students to use a higher order of thinking and analyzing as

they make connections between the meaning of illustrations and text.

I found this to be a worthy article due to the ways in which the author showed the

benefits of an interactive, small group read aloud of a picture book. Through this specific type of

read aloud, the students are encouraged to discuss concepts of a book and the details of the

illustrations as they read the book, rather than after they finish the book. This is a great strategy

for comprehension as the students are able to vocally predict, summarize, or question as they

read, as well as listen to the voices of their peers without adult interference. One aspect of this

article that I did not particularly like, was the way it was organized. It did not have sections

organized and labeled for characteristic such as participants or the methodology, which made it

more difficult for me to locate certain details. This article is relevant to my study as a whole as it

focuses on the understandings and responses of children in their encounters with picture books.

For future research, I believe it would be beneficial for researchers to apply responses of other

participants presented with a picture book to the same framework used in this study to see if

there are any significant or interesting patterns among various groups of students.

Throughout all K-12 classrooms, pictures books are known to be most commonly used in

early childhood classrooms as a means of enjoyment or to promote reading comprehension. But

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how does reading comprehension differ when picture books are implemented among upper

elementary and middle school aged students? In 2016, Jen Aggleton published an article in

which she explored the effects of reading comprehension of novel picture books among students

in the Key Stage Three grade level (i.e., grades 7, 8, and 9). The purpose of this study was to

consider the reason for having pictures within a book and the influence they have on the reader’s

comprehension and overall reading experience. Additionally, Aggleton wished to focus

particularly on the effects of novels with and without pictures, since there is little research on the

use of pictures within that specific type of book. The methodology of this study was qualitative

that primarily used student discussions centered towards the novel read. Six participants of ages

ranging from 11-14 were included in this study. For the purpose of this study, the students’

teacher gave each child a copy of the novel ​A Monster Calls​. Half of the copies were the

illustrated version, while the other half were the non-illustrated version. The students were asked

to give initial thoughts of the novel after reading it, which then led to one-on-one interviews

about the book with their teacher, as well as a group discussion. The findings of this study were

that both the group who read the illustrated version as well as the group who read the

non-illustrated version were engaged with the story, expressed enjoyment towards it, and

understood the basic themes of it. As far as comprehension goes, however, the students who read

the illustrated version of the book generally demonstrated a more critical thought process when it

came to interpreting the book. In other words, they were able to think analytically or “outside the

box” so to speak, using imaginative descriptions and questioning the meaning behind certain

aspects of the book. They also expressed that the illustrations added to the story and created

more possibilities as to how the story could be interpreted.

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This article is both worthy and interesting because it examines a topic many have not

examined before: the ways pictures influence or do not influence a reader’s comprehension of a

novel. The author was very thorough in her explanations of how children process books and why

this study was important to her. A less favorable aspect of this study was that few participants

were involved and only one book was assigned for the participants to read. Perhaps the study

would have provided stronger evidence if there was an increase in both the number of

participants and books. This article is relevant to my study because it expands the concept of

children’s picture books to picture novels. This differentiation leads to a broader understanding

of how pictures in general affect comprehension and not simply ​children’s​ picture books. In the

future, it would be interesting to compare how students’ answers regarding a particular story may

differ if a separate group of students were given the same story, but with illustrations of varying

art styles across all the books.

Methodology

In addition to my research of picture books through empirical articles, I also researched

this topic by collecting data through a survey. The survey was created through Google Forms. I

initially sent it to a relative who is a former Kindergarten teacher and has since been

homeschooling her children for the past several years. She then shared my survey online among

several teacher and homeschool groups. It was my hope that through their experience and

knowledge, I could better understand how picture books impact the comprehension of

elementary students.

Through this survey, I posed questions that led to a greater understanding of how picture

books affect the reading comprehension of young students. I also questioned whether students
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tend to focus more on pictures or words when discussing parts of a book, and if picture books

should be considered a necessary component of a school’s curriculum. These questions were

directed towards teachers and homeschool parents who had had experience teaching at least one

grade between Preschool and 5th Grade. In the description portion of my survey, I explained

what the goal of my research was and the question I sought to understand in more depth. In total,

20 teachers, many from the Northern Midwest area of the United States, others from all over the

nation, participated in my survey. It was my hope that a broad range of teachers from different

areas, some with in-school teaching experience, others with homeschool teaching experience,

participated in my study, so that I would be examining information regarding students with

various learning experiences. Therefore, I was pleased with the outcome of not only willing

participants, but participants with differing backgrounds.

Findings

The presented findings are based off of the data collected through the conducted survey.

The results of the survey showed that all 20 participants had experience teaching students in at

least one grade between Preschool and 5th Grade, the primary grades in which picture books are

implemented and comprehension strategies are introduced. The results also showed that all 20

participants have made use of picture books in their reading instruction. The most significant

question asked in the survey was: “​Have you noticed any differences in comprehension among

your student(s) when reading a picture book vs. a non-picture book? If so, how?” Of the 19

participants who answered this question, 18 answered positively, stating or implying that picture

books ​enhance comprehension and grasp children’s attention. Participant 20 answered that

“Picture books allow the student/teacher to discuss the background of the story and anticipate
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what will happen within the story.” Additionally, Participant 18 answered: “I teach English to

speakers of other languages, so picture books are imperative for vocabulary and language

development for my students. They use the pictures to both learn the language and to make

meaning of the text.” In the “additional comments” section, Participant 17 answered “As a

former teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students, most of my students relied on picture books

and other visuals to grasp concepts because their language skills were not strong enough to move

past basic books into higher level reading.” In addition, five participants specifically mentioned

how picture books hold a student’s attention and lead to their engagement with a story, and eight

participants noted how they have found picture books to be especially influential to younger

students.

Figure 1 below depicts the ways in which the participating teachers found their students

to share thoughts about a book. The survey question “​When discussing any part of a picture

book, your students typically seem to base their thoughts off of...” provided four possible

answers: “Visuals in the book”, “Words in a book”, “Both”, and “It varies”. ​55% of participants

answered “Both”, 30% answered “It varies”, 15% answered “Visuals in the book”, while none

answered “Words in a book.” This indicates that in regards to the participating teachers and their

students, all teachers found that their students relied on pictures all or at least some of the time

when discussing a part of a story. According to the participants’ answers, when their students are

provided with books that contain both pictures and words, none of the students only rely on the

words to support their ideas, but either the pictures or a combination of the pictures and words.
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Figure 1.​ Percentage breakdown of what participants see their students base their thoughts off of

when discussing a picture book.

Figure 2 below depicts the percent of participants who considered picture books to be a

crucial and necessary component to their school curriculum. 19 of the 20 participants answered

they do consider picture books to be a necessary component to their curriculum. Participant 1

said: “Picture books are a crucial part of my curriculum, especially for younger students and

students who learn best visually.” Because the majority of the participants found picture books to

be necessary, this further implies that picture books are important, useful, and beneficial to

students.
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Figure 2.​ Percentage breakdown of participants who consider picture books to be a necessary

component to their school curriculum.

In examining this collection of data, it may be gathered that almost every teacher who

participated in the study find that picture books have a positive effect on reading comprehension.

This is shown primarily through their short answers describing how picture books have affected

their students. Answers that were most frequently repeated specifically noted that picture books

are especially beneficial for young or visual learners, and that they grasp attention, promote

engagement, and spark interest for independent reading.

Recommendations

Through all this research and the recorded research that has been conducted over the

course of the past several years, picture books have shown to be a positive and beneficial

resource that support the development of reading comprehension among many young learners.

However, there is still research to be done on more specific effects of picture books. For one, it is

likely that more research could be conducted on the neurological effects of picture books, or
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perhaps comparisons of how comprehension may be affected by books of different picture art

styles. Additionally, it would be interesting to see whether children view a picture book

differently depending on who is reading it aloud. For example, one could conduct a study to

compare how children respond when a parent reads a book versus when a stranger reads the

same book. In addition to these topics to study further, there are many other aspects of picture

books that could be explored in more depth as well.

In my own study of the effects of picture books on reading comprehension, I believe I

could take my research another step further by conducting a study or multiple studies that

involve comparing the way a control group of students respond to books without pictures to the

way an experimental group responds to the same book with pictures. This specific type of study

is very similar to the studies conducted by Rosalina (2017) and Aggleton (2016). However, I

believe these studies are the surest way to compare the effects of picture books with pictureless

books. In doing this, a researcher is better able to understand how pictures actually affect the

reader. Although many studies similar to this have been conducted, I believe researchers should

continue to make comparisons among books and the ways in which children respond to them

across several different areas, schools, and students.

In order for a child to fully comprehend a story, he or she must first experience interest or

engagement in the story. Pictures within a book are a great way to produce this engagement, and

fortunately almost all elementary teachers make use of picture books in their classrooms (Al

Khaiyali, 2014). However, it is quite possible that some teachers may not always know the best

methods that will lead their students towards becoming fully engaged or reaching a level of

comprehension in which they are able to use their imagination or critically articulate the meaning
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 14

of a story (Baird et al., 2016). For instance, Baird et al. (2016) claims that children progress

through different “worlds” when interacting with a story: ​book world,​ ​real world,​ and ​play

world.​ It is in ​play world​ that a child produces his or her most creative, imaginative, and critical

thoughts (Baird et al., 2016). Further, through their research, Baird et al. (2016) discovered that

when children share their thoughts about a story while in ​play world,​ they typically base their

thoughts off of a books’ pictures. In regards to this study, it should be the goal of all literacy

teachers to use pictures within a book to guide their students into ​play world​ where they will

most likely experience full comprehension of a story.

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References

Aggleton, J. (2016). “What is the use of books without pictures?” An exploration of the impact

of illustrations on reading experience in ​A Monster Calls.​ ​Children’s Literature in

Education, 48​(1), 230-244.

Al Khaiyali, A. 2014. ESL elementary teachers’ use of children’s picture books to initiate

explicit instruction of reading comprehension strategies. ​English Language Teaching,

7​(2), 90-102.

Baird, A., Laugharne, J., Maagero, E., Tonnessen, E. S. (2016). Child readers and the worlds of

the picture book. ​Children’s Literature in Education, 47​(1), 1-17.

Braid, C. & Finch, B. (2015). “Ah, I know why…”: Children developing understandings through

engaging with a picture book. ​Literacy, 49(​ 3), 115-122.

Lubis, R. (2018). The progress of students reading comprehension through wordless picture

books. ​Advances in Language and Literacy Studies, 9​(1), 48-52.

Reutzel, D. R. & Cooter, R. B., Jr. (2012). ​Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the

difference.​ Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rosalina. (2017). The effect of picture story books on students’ reading comprehension.

Advances in Language and Literacy Studies, 8(​ 2), 213-221.

EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 16

Appendix

Survey Questions:
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 17
EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 18
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Raw Data

First Name Have you If so, which Have you Have you When Do you Additional
ever had grade(s) have ever made noticed any discussing consider comments
experience you taught? use of differences in any part of picture (optional)
teaching a picture comprehension a picture books to be
student/ books in among your book, your a necessary
students your student(s) when students component
between teaching reading a typically of your
Preschool experience? picture book vs. seem to school
and 5th a non-picture base their curriculum?
Grade? book? If so, thoughts
how? off of...

Participant Yes Preschool- Yes Yes. Both Yes Picture books

1 grade 5 Comprehension are a crucial
is greater when I part of my
have used picture curriculum,
books. especially for
younger
students, and
student who
learn best
visually.
Participant Yes Pre-k - 12 Yes Younger students Both Yes
2 comprehend thru
pictures better
than words.
Participant Yes all Yes It increased the It varies Yes
3 desire to read
more books, or at
least look at
more books.
Encouragement
to actually read
only increased if
the words
weren't too
difficult at first.
Participant Yes all Yes I don't know if it Both Yes
4 affects
comprehension,
but a picture
book is vastly
more likely to
keep the
attention of
younger kids
 EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 20

who are learning

to read.
Participant Yes Birth-grade 5 Yes Both Yes
5
Participant Yes 2nd-5th Yes Less strong It varies Yes
6 readers/
comprehenders
can follow sort
via pics. For
stronger readers,
pics enhance
experience and
provide visuals
for long term
memory.
Participant Yes All of them Yes Before the age of Visuals in Yes I was just
7 (homeschoole six or seven my the book thinking a
r :)) kids have a much couple of days
more difficult ago how my
time younger kids
comprehending a take the
story without pictures in a
pictures. Pictures book very
hold their literally. If
attention, and something is
add they another mentioned in
layer to what the text, they
they're hearing. are looking for
it in the
picture. My
youngest, a
six-year-old
with some mild
special needs,
is especially
like this and is
slightly
annoyed when
something is
mentioned in
the text but not
shown in the
picture!
Participant Yes Kindergarten Yes Yes, they are Both Yes I credit a
8 and Preschool almost always couple of
more engaged particular
 EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 21

with a picture picture books

book. with inspiring
my oldest to
read at an early
age! I have
been so
pleasantly
surprised lately
by my
3-year-old's
memorizations
of certain
picture books,
even lengthy
ones.
Participant Yes Preschool & Yes A picture book Both Yes
9 5, 6 grade enhances
comprehension
and can
personalize
situations.
Participant Yes K - 4th Yes Picture books Both Yes Picture books
10 (homeschool) bring a story to are the
life foundation of
homeschooling
with my 7 year
old who has
Down
Syndrome.
Participant Yes K through 5 Yes Yes. When there Visuals in No
11 are pictures, the the book
student will
guess at the text
based on the
pictures. When
there are no
pictures, the
student is
focused on the
words.
Participant Yes K, 1 (Gen Yes Picture books are It varies Yes
12 ed)& much easier for
K-12(Sped) comprehension
in young /early
readers. Once
readers have
 EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 22

progressed to no
having to decode
most words non
picture books
become just as
easy.
Participant Yes homeschool Yes My kids are Both Yes
13 PreK-3 more engaged
when I'm reading
a picture book
(especially the
younger ones) so
they are more
likely to stay and
listen.
Sometimes the
younger kids go
elsewhere after
awhile when I'm
reading a
non-picture
book.
Participant Yes All those Yes They are very Both Yes There are
14 grades engaged and the many good
learn more . picture books
with
information
that is
presented in an
easy format but
provide
information
that sparks the
imagination
which helps
the students
retain what
they learn. I
also employ
the use of
notebooking
pages to help
them narrate
what they have
learned.
Participant Yes preschool Yes Increased interest It varies Yes
 EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 23

15 through 5th level leads to

grade increased
comprehension.
Participant Yes Pre through 5 Yes Yes It varies Yes
16
Participant Yes K-12 Yes Yes! Particularly It varies Yes As a former
17 graphic novels. teacher of deaf
Graphic novels and hard of
and comics hearing
(Calvin and students, most
Hobbes) helped of my students
my home school relied on
student bridge picture books
the gap between and other
early readers and visuals to grasp
chapter books! concepts
He had found the because their
graphic novels language skills
for the Erin were not strong
Hunter Warriors enough to
series. After move past
reading one and basic books
seeing the action into higher
and realizing level reading.
they were in Only students
chapter books he who had
launched himself parents at
into a chapter home who
book very soon used sign
after. We used language ever
picture books seemed to
from juvenile move on to
section when he chapter books.
was wanting to The average
know more about deaf and hard
fighter jets, fire of hearing
trucks etc. student usually
does not seem
to move past
the 3rd grade
reading level.
Therefore I
relied on
picture books
often. Also
social stories
 EFFECTS OF PICTURE BOOKS ON READING COMPREHENSION 24

with autistic
and special
needs students
were very
useful.
Participant Yes Pre-K through Yes I teach English to Visuals in Yes
18 5 speakers of other the book
languages, so
picture books are
imperative for
vocabulary and
language
development for
my students.
They use the
pictures to both
learn the
language and to
make meaning of
the text.
Participant Yes Pre-K-5th Yes Visual learners Both Yes Check out
19 (Homeschool) often recall a Sarah
and Pre-K, K, story by recalling Mackenzie’s
1st, & 4-8th images stored in Read Aloud
in co-ops their memories. Revival
Participant Yes k-12 Yes Picture books Both Yes
20 allow the
student/teacher
to discuss the
background of
the story and
anticipate what
will happen
within the story.