Illustration's link to development

Understanding how powerful and everlasting folktales stand in mans societal and personal growth is key in creating new narratives. These narratives are not only to be condemned to paper, or only released in verse, but to instead be exposed in any form- illustration being one in particular. Illustrators have a lot of power in tackling folktales and their symbols. Their mercy and severity in translating folklore into images can have the effect of changing views, or original ideas of a story. This is an especially powerful tool when it comes to having the opportunity to change the mind of a child. According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory,

“The preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately two to seven years of age, is the second Piagetian stage. In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. Symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and physical action.” (anon, 2010)

In this creation stage it is important to understand that their symbolic and spatial registry begins to advance. Thus the linkage children make to illustrations from their commonly read folktales will be very significant at this stage of their growth.