Piaget, meet lilly: Understanding child development through picture book characters

Picture books appeal to readers of all ages for many different reasons. As instructors of child development, we use them as one strategy to help students conceptualize the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional growth of children. We use picture books to introduce principles, explain vocabulary, and encourage students to make connections between theory and practice in early childhood education. In this article, we provide examples of picture books that can be used to understand children from infancy (birth-2 years) to early childhood (2-6 years). Twenty-four suggested titles accurately narrate and illustrate early development.