绘本（Picture Book），顾名思义就是「画出来的书」。整本书以图画为主，可以连贯成为单一完整故事的称为绘本。简单来说，只要把整本书的文本全部拿掉，读者光靠整本书的图还可以知道整本书的故事内容在说什么，才可以被称做为绘本。绘本常常被人以插图为主的故事书搞混。整本书若以文本为主，就算每一页都有插图，将整本书的文本拿掉后，若读者光看图看不出整个故事的来龙去脉，那就是故事书。绘本有分年龄层，儿童绘本主要是针对幼儿、儿童所设置的出版品，多以适合幼儿、儿童阅读的内容为取向，成人绘本则是以成人阅读的绘本为主。

A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor, and pencil, among others. Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now were Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter from 1845 and Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit from 1902. Some of the best-known picture books are Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings, Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat, and Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. The Caldecott Medal (established 1938) and Kate Greenaway Medal (established 1955) are awarded annually for illustrations in children's literature. From the mid-1960s several children's literature awards include a category for picture books.