This text offers an analysis of how young readers make sense of picture books and use pictures to develop their reading skills. It offers suggestions for the use of picture books in the early years classroom and reviews the "Great Reading Debate" and critical theory in relation to the National Curriculum. The book also includes the illustrator's view on creating a picture book, including an examination of priorities and the perceptions of the audience. There is a history of picture books given and the text is illustrated with examples from children's picture books.