The art of learning with pictures

Illustrated books fast becoming the development tools of choice for children

"Illustration or picture books are much better than iPads for growing-up children, as they help stimulate the child's imagination," said Li Yaming, a 34-year-old mother and a middle-school teacher in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. "But the plethora of choices often makes it difficult for me to choose the best ones."

Li's words find common ground with several Chinese parents. Most of these parents are those who grew up in the 1980s, the golden period for children's illustration books in China, and went on to be parents in what is now an increasingly digital era. The more they are exposed to an information overdrive environment, the more they are eager to keep their children away from it.