Affective consequences on children of book illustration design choices

Abstract

Illustration in children's books has several advantages such as encouraging a child’s emotional development. Illustrations arouse interest and support the text in conveying the book’s message. The effect of illustrations on children suffering from B.L.A.S.T. (Bored, Lonely, Angry-Afraid, Sad, Tired) was studied in Indonesia on children aged 7-13 years. The children read three illustrated storybooks and were then examined using the semiotic framework of Roland Barthes. The results suggest that certain books with illustrations may ameliorate the symptoms of this condition. This paper reports the results of a small primary research on this phenomenon and critically reviews published research to determine the extent to which illustrations can influence children's emotional development. By comparing various factors, such as children's ages, this study aims to shed more light on children's design. Children's books often use graphic illustrations, such as drawings, to support and enhance spoken conversation in group reading activities. In this research, I compared several factors that influence how attentively children perceive these illustrations and how well they can understand them.