Infants (0-3 years old), children mainly rely on sensory experience to understand the world. Children's picture books created at this time should have bright color contrast, such as red and green, yellow and blue, large and simple graphics, and basic shapes such as circles and squares. The text should be concise and rhythmic, and repeated sentences should be used, such as "Baby, look, this is a red apple, a big red apple", which is convenient for infants and young children to follow and remember. Through simple pictures and language, their visual and auditory development is stimulated, and their initial language perception ability is cultivated.
In the early childhood period (3-6 years old), children's imagination begins to sprout and they are full of curiosity about the world around them. The stories of children's picture books can revolve around familiar life scenes, such as kindergarten life, family fun, etc. The plot is simple but varied. The illustration style should be lively, the characters should be cute and exaggerated, and the details of the picture can be appropriately increased to guide children to observe and discover. The text should be vivid and use more adjectives and verbs to describe the scenes and actions of the characters in the story, such as "the little rabbit hops to pick mushrooms", to help children enrich their vocabulary and stimulate their imagination and desire to explore.
During childhood (6-12 years old), children's cognitive abilities are further improved, and logical thinking and abstract thinking begin to sprout. The themes of children's picture books can be more diversified, covering historical stories, popular science knowledge, adaptations of literary classics, etc. The picture style can be diversified according to the theme, and realistic, comic and other styles are all acceptable. Pay attention to the layering and narrative of the picture, and use the picture to assist the text to tell complex stories and knowledge. The text content can be appropriately increased in length and difficulty, and some rhetoric and idioms can be used to improve children's reading comprehension and literary literacy, guide them to think and analyze, and meet their desire for knowledge and in-depth exploration of the world.
In the creation process, the attention characteristics of children of different ages should also be considered. Children's picture books for infants and toddlers should be short and can be read in a few minutes; the reading time can be extended appropriately in toddlers, but it should also be controlled within 10-15 minutes; in childhood, it can be 20-30 minutes or even longer depending on the story content. At the same time, the design of interactive elements should also be in line with the cognitive stage. In infants and toddlers, some simple interactions such as touching and turning pages can be set; in toddlers, stickers and find games can be added; in childhood, some questions can be designed to guide children's thinking and discussion, so that children can actively participate in reading, better obtain knowledge and fun from children's picture books, and promote their cognitive development.
