Smartening Up With Wordless Books

By Julie Douglas, Family Program Specialist

"So, let’s open Black On White now and read it," said the group's leader. Sitting in a circle at a "READ from the START" program, the parents were filled with anticipation as they turned to the first page. Some smiles quickly faded. A few people chuckled. One mom voiced what everyone else was thinking: "We can’t read this book. There are NO WORDS!"

Children’s picture books are the wonderful marriage of text and illustration. The words tell a story; the illustrations expand the story or sometimes even tell a completely different story. So where do wordless picture books fit in and why are they so good for kids (and adults!)?

According to Denise I. Matulka, creator of the website Picturing Books, "Wordless books are excellent tools for helping children develop the basic building blocks of language. They stimulate creativity and language, while at the same time introducing children to basic story structures and the juxtaposition of images and words. A wordless book stretches the imagination, allowing children to explore language through design and illustration. Picture books help children develop eye coordination and print awareness."

Wordless picture books come in a variety of styles, from books that simply show an object on each page, to flowing comic-style stories, to elaborately illustrated cut-out or pop-up books.
How a wordless picture book is used depends on the age of the reader. Babies delight in looking at pictures of familiar objects and faces. Parents can help a baby build vocabulary by naming the objects depicted or by talking to the baby about what is on each page. Toddlers enjoy naming the objects and asking (sometimes endless) questions about what they see. Preschoolers are ready for simple stories told through illustrations. They also love to spend time poring over the details in illustrations and talking about what they see.

Benefits

As a child matures, he is able to follow a more complicated plot as it unfolds in pictures. Actively engaged, the young "reader" must make sense of what he sees and how it relates to what he has already seen. Sequencing and making inferences are just two of the skills that a reader uses. Guiding the child with good questions helps build comprehension and thinking skills. Enjoying wordless books shouldn't stop once a child learns to read! Wordless books continue to strengthen imagination and inspire storytelling. Wordless books can even capture the attention of the most reluctant reader by allowing the child to experience literature in a way that is accessible and satisfying regardless of reading ability.

Get started on a visual adventure with this baker's dozen of exceptional wordless picture books.

Of Colors and Things by Tana Hoban (Harper Collins, 1996)
Tana Hoban's photographs brightly depict ordinary objects in an appealing way.

Look Book by Tana Hoban (Greenwillow, 1997)
By giving the reader only a peek at an object through a die-cut circle on each page, Hoban encourages readers to guess what they are seeing. When the page is turned, the whole photograph is revealed. Taking a close look at the familiar objects causes the reader to pay attention and use what he knows to make predictions.

Peep! By Kevin Luthardt (Peachtree, 2003)
Who hasn't dreamed of bringing home a little stray animal? Follow a little boy as he befriends a baby duckling. The boy's facial expressions humorously carry the story about gaining and losing a pet.

Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)
An imaginative story about a lonely boy who is bored on a rainy day, Rainstorm entices the reader with a strange key, a mysterious trunk, and a secret passageway that leads to adventure.

The Adventures of Polo by Regis Faller (Roaring Brook Press, 2006)
A graphic novel for the preschool set, The Adventures of Polo invites readers to join a resourceful pooch on his journey to see the world. Bold illustrations make this book visually appealing.

Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (Candlewick, 2004)
Hawkes' clever use of signs that advertise a coming circus set the stage for a circus of a different sort. As a young girl waits for a bus, she is treated to a show put on by everyday people. Sidewalk Circus reminds readers that there are stories everywhere we look!

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Have you ever lost track of time while exploring a museum only to come out into the daylight blinking and wondering "where" you had been? Lehman gives us a story about a little boy who gets separated from his classmates on a trip to an art museum, only to embark on an adventure of his own. Interesting details and nods to famous works of art make this book fun to study. Children who like mazes will be captivated by the labyrinths that the boy explores.

Sector 7 by David Wiesner (Clarion, 1999)
I love visiting the worlds created by Wiesner! Sector 7 beautifully answers the question that every child eventually asks: "Where do clouds come from?" A young boy befriends a cloud (yes, a cloud) on a school trip to the Empire State Building. The boy travels with his new buddy to a fantastic control center and helps the disgruntled clouds get a new look.

Anno’s USA by Mitsumasa Anno (Putnam Juvenile, 1998)
Readers will discover something new each time they travel to Anno's USA. Each page contains visual references to the literature, art, history, and architecture of our country. Young readers can enjoy pointing out familiar objects, while older children and adults will look for a story in each spread. Fans of Anno should also check out Anno's Journey, Anno's Spain, and Anno's Medieval World.

Madlenka by Peter Sis (FSG, 2000)
Though not technically a "wordless" picture book, Sis uses illustrations in such an interesting way that it deserves to be included. Little Madlenka tells each of the neighbors in her multicultural neighborhood her exciting news. She has a loose tooth! As she talks with each friend, she is transported to exotic and visually rich settings where the reader gets a little taste of other cultures. Sis' clever use of cutouts puts Madlenka right in the middle of each imaginative scene. Madlenka reminds us that a book allows us to travel "all around the world." In case you fall in love with Madlenka (you will, trust me), check out Madlenka's Dog for more of her adventures.

Zoom by Istvan Banyai (Puffin, 1998)
Perspective is what this book is all about. Just when you think you know what you are seeing, a page turn shows you a different way to look at it.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin, 2004)
A young girl literally gets lost in a magical red book that she finds on her walk to school. At the same time, a young boy finds an identical red book on a sandy beach. A new friendship blooms in this imaginative wordless story.

The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard by Gregory Rogers (Roaring Brook Press, 2007)
It’s 4 p.m on a midsummer's afternoon when a boy suddenly finds himself on the stage of the Globe Theatre. The bard, Shakespeare, is none too happy to find this trespasser and a chase through Elizabethan England ensues. The boy goes on to rescue a bear and then a baron, meets Queen Elizabeth, and finally makes his way back to the safety of the Globe. This wordless tale, told only in comic-strip style illustrations has it all…adventure, drama, friendship, romance, and humor. Now THAT'S a story!!