picture-book

A child reads a colorful picture-book before bedtime.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A picture-book is a book containing many illustrations, especially one intended for children. The text is often minimal or subordinate to the pictures, which tell or enhance the story.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The child spent hours looking at the picture-book, fascinated by the colourful drawings. (A book with many pictures, designed for a young audience.)
  • She bought a picture-book about animals for her niece's birthday. (A children's book with visual storytelling.)

Advanced Usage

• "Picture-book" as a modifier (often hyphenated): used to describe something that is as perfect, charming, or idyllic as a scene from a picture-book.
  • They lived in a picture-book cottage with a thatched roof and roses around the door. (A cottage that looks like it belongs in a storybook illustration.)

Variants and Related Words

• Picture-book (adj): having the qualities of a picture-book, especially being quaint or idealised.
  • The village had a picture-book beauty. (A beauty that resembles a scene from a children's book.)
• Picture-book (n) is the base form; no common derived forms exist as a single word.

Synonyms

• Children's book: a book intended for young readers, often with illustrations.
• Illustrated book: a book with pictures, though not necessarily for children.
• Storybook: a book containing stories, often with pictures, for children.

Related Idioms

• A picture-book ending: a perfect or ideal conclusion, like one in a children's story.
  • The film had a picture-book ending where everyone lived happily ever after. (An ideal, happy resolution.)