This study explores how picturebooks can be used as a tool for motivating children's vocabulary learning in the Junior Infant classroom. While picture books are used regularly in many Junior Infant classrooms around Ireland to explore topics and to support the learning of vocabulary, they are often underutilised, and there is often be a "one-and-done" approach towards picturebooks. This approach limits opportunities for children to engage deeply and have repeated exposures to the vocabulary present within picturebooks. Many studies in this area seek to address how to successfully perform effective readalouds for children and suggest supportive strategies. This study, however, seeks to investigate how picturebooks can be used as a basis to enhance children's motivation to learn vocabulary in the Junior Infant classroom, combined with more varied teaching strategies and repeated read-alouds. Drawing on classroom-based observations, teacher reflections, pupil emoji-surveys and inputs from my critical friend and validation group members, the findings from this study suggest that engaging children in purposeful activities based on the vocabulary within picturebooks and repeated read-alouds increases children's motivation to learn new vocabulary and to use the vocabulary independently.