First Pictures, Early Concepts: Early Concept Books

Abstract

This article focuses on a largely neglected book type for small children, picture books printed on thick cardboard that show pictures of common everyday objects such as ball, an apple or a chair, but with little text than object labels. The authors propose that these books should be called early concept books since their main purpose is to support the child's acquisition of concepts by looking at pictures. After describing three outstanding examples in more detail (Mim Chindli, The First Picture Book, Erste Bilder), the article deals with visual, linguistic, and literary aspects of this book type.