This thesis discusses the use and role of picture book as a part of the teaching process in the first grade of elementary school. It is a fact that a picture book is a peculiar reading material and it represents a child's first contact with literature and writing in general. Therefore, its relevance and role in the life of a young beginner reader is unquestionable. A picture book differs greatly from an illustrated book in that it requires a complex, close, and yet harmonious cooperation between two artists, a writer and an illustrator. As a specific linguistic and artistic rendition of reality, it needs succinct yet colorful texts accompanied by illustrations which provide information that cannot be derived from the text itself. In Croatian language classes, picture book is used in the first and, to some extent, in the second grade of elementary schooling. However, in the higher grades it is no longer used as a part of the educational process. Picture book is extremely important when it comes to first graders since it entices them to read and helps them develop the habit and urge for reading as well as fostering other desired qualities in a student. Making a class picture book can be done extremely successfully by combining art and Croatian classes, as this thesis shows.