Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate how a picture book for children is transformed into an easy-to-read version for children who have just started reading. I examine two versions of Emil of Lönneberga. One of the books is the orginal picture book of Emil in Lönneberga and was written by Astrid Lindgren (1963), while the other is an easy-toreadversion of the book, as adapted by the author Helena Renvall (1977). I have conducted a comparative study as a text and picture analysis of the material, with the focus on the adaptation of the original story. The adaptation in this case is a revision intended to make the story easier to read and more accessible to today’s children. The most important finding of the study is that easily read information is not just a matter of simplifying the text; the form of both text and pictures is adapted. The text is characterized by simpler words and shorter sentences. The pictorial material has been increased and the originally black and white pictures have been given added red colour. Otherwise, most of the layout has been changed for several reasons, but generally speaking so that the relation between text and pictures on each spread will function inthe most easy-to-read way possible.