Why are the illustrations in the books black and white, rather than color?
We have taken great care with the illustrations in our books, and have worked exclusively with artists experienced in children’s literature. Our decision to include only black-and-white illustrations in “Cognitive Skills for Kindergarten and First Grade” was twofold. First, we wanted to emulate the format of the OLSAT and other tests of cognitive ability as closely as possible. These tests only use black-and-white illustrations, and since we wanted the children who complete our workbook to have close familiarity with the OLSAT, we decided to restrict our illustrations to be only black-and-white as well. Furthermore, we wished to be consistent with current research, which indicates that color illustrations can often increase a child’s cognitive load and distract him/her from the task at hand. The illustrations we used are fun and whimsical, while at the same time, clean, clear and concise; they are fun, but not distracting!
