Picturebooks have been used in primary English Language Teaching (ELT) methodologies for over four decades (Ghosn 2013a). They are referred to as ‘storybooks’(Ellis and Brewster 2014, Ghosn 2013a),‘real books’(Cameron 2001, Dunn 1997–2004, Machura 1991, Mourão 2003) and real picturebooks (Dunn 2003). More recently the term ‘authentic children’s literature’(Ghosn 2013a) has also been used, and for language-learning purposes it is authenticity that is key in the definition of a picturebook, in particular authenticity of the words found alongside the pictures (Ghosn 2013a). But, defining picturebooks merely as authentic materials does them a huge injustice, as does an overemphasis on the words they contain. To discuss this further I would like to begin by looking at a definition of a picturebook and unravelling it. A definition which is used widely in the field of children’s literature comes from Bader:

A picturebook is text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and a commercial product; a social, cultural, historic document; and foremost, an experience for a [reader]. As an art form it hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning page. On its own terms its possibilities are limitless.(Bader 1976: 1)