ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evidence for and against pictures with the purpose of determining why it is and when it is that pictures have an effect on comprehension. The distinction often made between learning-to-read and learning-from-reading correlates at least roughly with my categories of the uses of illustrations. The following discussion begins with a brief survey of the work that has demonstrated that illustrations are unhelpful, and sometimes actually harmful, in learning to decode and to comprehend print. The most convincing evidence against the use of illustrations in children's texts has been marshaled by Samuels. Samuels' fairly caustic criticism of the ubiquitous use of pictures in beginning reading texts may be quite appropriate as applied to established publishing practices. The analysis presented in the previous sections indicates that the information content of pictures and its relationship to the text may play a crucial role in determining when it is that an illustration is beneficial.
