“It’s a teacher’s dream to have something this engaging”

Abstract Scholars in the field of primary English teaching advocate the use of authentic picturebooks, for reasons related to language development and more holistic goals of primary education. Picturebook read-alouds facilitate joint meaning-making and interactions around interesting content that motivate young learners to learn about themselves and others. Nevertheless, picturebooks are rarely used in early English instruction. To address this discrepancy, the current study illuminates the perspectives of primary teachers of English and their experiences of picturebook read-alouds. Three teachers, who were not used to working with authentic multimodal narratives in class, chose two titles each to use with their respective groups in school year 5 in Sweden, with learners aged 11/12. Interviews were conducted after each read-aloud. Findings reveal that the teachers were positive about the potential of picturebook read-alouds, and the analysis generated four categories illustrating these benefits: (1) learner engagement and motivation, (2) authenticity, (3) catering to various needs in mixed-ability groups, and (4) target language learning and use. Issues related to classroom management and control were also addressed. The findings offer valuable insight into the potential of picturebook read-alouds, and carry implications for the advancement of pedagogy in early language education.