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What is the difference between picture books and easy to read books?

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Picture books and easy to read books have many similar qualities. That’s why it’s not surprising that many people wonder what defines one and the other. To provide a bit of background information and give you a good overview, we will look at these two types of books and answer the frequently asked question “What is the difference between picture books and easy to read books?”

Book with pictures and text

Without making things all too technical, we’ll look at three key differences between picture books and easy to read books in this article:

  1. The pictures

The key really is in the name. A picture book combines text and pictures or only tells a story in pictures. Easy to read books do not necessarily include any pictures at all. Their focus is typically to teach reading or tell stories to children whose reading is not very advanced yet. Easy to read books thus also refrain from using complex sentence structures and difficult words. To put it simply: A picture book definitely has pictures and may include words; An easy to read book definitely contains words and may show some pictures too.

  1. The purpose

Of course, every kind of book has a purpose. A textbook for university is meant to teach and add valuable background information. A novel aims to entertain, usually teenagers or adults. Photo or picture books tend to be made either for memory preservation or to entertain the younger generations. They can be story books, drawing books, or family photo books.

As mentioned before, the purpose is essential to answer the question “What is the difference between picture books and easy to read books?” Easy to read books aim to make their subject easy to understand. They may use photos or drawings to support the story or topic. Picture books may not even technically have a subject. Per definition, they are simply a collection of pictures bound into a book. The focus is on the pictures, but words may also be used to underline what is shown on the pages. If you think about a family photo book, you’ll mostly think about photos of the parents and children, with some anecdotes or descriptions below some of the photos.

Kermit the frog holding a picture book with writing upside down

  1. The author

While photo books are typically made by the consumer, this doesn’t necessarily apply to all picture books and usually doesn’t apply to easy to read books at all. Most easy to read books are professionally written and sold. Picture books can also fall into this category. After all, there are many children’s books that are mostly pictures with just a few lines of text. But there are also pictures books that aren’t made commercially. Think of photographers who want to present their work professionally or a photo book you made yourself. This can also be a children’s story book – it all depends on your creativity.

Giant book fused with a landscape

So there you have it. The difference between picture books and easy to read books may seem small, but it is relevant. Perhaps the most important difference is the ratio between text and pictures. While picture books usually work with little to no text, easy to read books focus on the text and may only use pictures to underline what the text is about. Picture books also tend to be written or made for entertainment while easy to read books tend to aim at improving one’s reading abilities, especially for children.

We hope this article has helped you answer your question and provided you with some inspiration for your next photo book project. Why not create your very own children’s fairy tale with pictures of your family and your very own adventures written in them?