Illustrations are powerful tools in children’s books. They guide understanding, support text, and make stories come alive. But what happens when illustrations are not clearly structured?
While analyzing children’s books for my research, I tried an experiment:I took single sentences out of context from illustrated pages to see if I could reconstruct the storyline using only the illustration. Result: It was surprisingly confusing.
Why did it become confusing?
- Illustrations without clear sequencing: Many pictures are rich in detail but do not guide the eye clearly. Without the text, it is hard to know what happens first or what the focus of the scene is
- Too many simultaneous actions: Some illustrations show multiple characters doing different things at once. For a beginner reader, this is overwhelming without visual hierarchy
- Missing visual cues: If characters or actions are not clearly distinguished, it is easy to lose track of who is speaking or what the central event is on the page
- Text and image are too interdependent: Sometimes, the image only makes sense together with the text. When separated, the meaning collapses
What I learned
- Illustrations should support the narrative independently where possible, providing visual anchors that help reconstruct the storyline even if the text is unclear or skipped
- Clear visual hierarchy (size, color contrast, character focus) helps direct the reader’s eye and narrative understanding
- Illustrations should not overload the scene with unrelated details that distract from the core storyline, especially for first readers
