Long before children can read a sentence or recognize a letter, they understand stories through pictures. An image can make them laugh, feel safe, feel brave, or feel curious without a single word being spoken. In children’s books, illustrations are not decorations added after the fact. They are language. They are emotion. They are often the very first way a child learns how stories work. Art that speaks without words holds a special kind of magic. It reaches children wher

Children don’t just read stories, they step inside them. When a magical world is built with care, young readers don’t question whether it exists. They feel it. They believe it. One moment they are sitting on a couch or tucked into bed, and the next they are wandering through enchanted forests, soaring above clouds, or whispering secrets to dragons. That sense of belief is the true magic of children’s fantasy. But making magic believable isn’t about piling on spells, creatur