The appointment of Anthony Browne, children’s illustrator and picture book author, as the Children’s Laureate in the UK in 2009 raises the profile of picture books as a tool for developing language learning for EFL students.

In this workshop I will briefly outline the value of using authentic picture books, stories and poems with primary aged EFL students, as well as some of the challenges this approach presents. I will then go on to suggest how on-line resources can help to solve some of these challenges and look at the ways that we can integrate technology into lessons based on children’s stories in order to make them more accessible. I will demonstrate a selection of activities to show how such technology can enhance children’s enjoyment of and engagement in stories.

We will discuss the delicate balance between using modern technology to attract younger learners to stories and literature while also attempting to give them a love for actual books themselves.

To conclude, I will review some internet sites which focus on children’s literature and provide useful resources for the EFL teacher.