Everything you want to know about picture books can be found in this simple and straightforward guide. After defining the picture book and describing its history and technological evolution, the author helps you better understand and appreciate picture books by describing how they're made-their anatomy, types of illustration, layouts, design elements, and typography-various types of picture books (genres, formats, styles), how picture books work (the art of the story), and how they relate to child development and literacy. Picture book reviews, building a collection, using picture books with various age groups, and issues such as multicultural literature, classics, and controversial titles are some of the other topics covered.