This paper seeks to define the concept of picture books through a brief historical overview of their development to understand the impact, role, and functions of picture books on a child's overall development. The picture book is a complex part of children's literature that consists numerous components that are needed to be considered so that the picture book reach their full potential. Early and preschool children get picture books through adults who need to be able to recognize the quality picture book which they are offering to children. To make it easier for parents to choose, the paper presents guidelines and tips to keep in mind when choosing a picture book, as well as a list of picture books suggested by experts, taking into account children's perception of quality. By reading picture books to children and activities involving children in the reading process, we influence their cognitive, social, emotional, speech development and the development of the child's early literacy. Adult reading sets the foundation for later easier mastery of children’s reading and writing. To develop pre-reading skills it is necessary to take care of the environment in which we read which should be stimulating to meet the prerequisites for the development of early childhood literacy. Creating a stimulating environment is further explained in the paper. Reading a picture book is a quality time spent by adults and children, which creates a feeling of interconnectedness and mutual enjoyment of the story, so reading should start at an early age. Dialogue reading is especially important because then the phases of reading and the phases of conversation alternate, which encourages children to express their thoughts, think, and draw conclusions, that is, we encourage the overall development of children. The activity of reading the picture book „Pumpkin Soup“ to preschool children in kindergarten was carried out to show the impact of reading on the overall development of the child.