Wordless or nearly wordless books

and how to use them

WORDLESS OR NEARLY WORDLESS BOOKS

Wordless books help a child’s imagination grow. They can also give a child a simple way to follow a story while looking at picture clues. This can particularly be helpful when a child struggles with the written word and serve as a motivational tool to familiarize that child with books and the wonder and magic they hold.

Whether he is a young child who is interested in using the pictures to tell the story, or an older child who can write down the story he or she creates, wordless books are fun to explore.

Wordless books are also tools for helping children (or parents) who are unfamiliar with the English language or uncomfortable how books work or reading step into the “academic” world. At the end of this list, you’ll find a few tips for working with the latter.

Anno’s Journey by M. Anno
Black and White by Tana Hoban
Do You Want to Be My Friend? By Eric Carle
First Snow by Emily Arnold McCully
Free Fall by David Wiesner
How to Build A Snowman by Scholastic and Jo Moon
Hug by Jez Alborough
I Can’t Sleep by Phillippe Dupasquier
I Like Black and White by Barbara Jean Hicks
Lights Out by Arthur Geisert
My Friend Gorilla by Atsuko Morozumi
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola
School Bus by Donald Crews
Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischmann
The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
The Secret of Love by Sarah Burg
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Truck by Donald Crews
Yes! By Jez Alborough
You’re A Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day

Strategies for Effective Picture Walks:

STW: What do you

see » » think » » wonder?

Useful questions to ask or prompts to model include :

Let’s look at the front cover. What do you think this story is about? (predict, analyze)
Have you ever _______________? An experience I had was… (distinguish, categorize, evaluate)
Turn the page. What do you see? What do you think is happening? (label, comprehend)
What do you think will happen next? (predict, solve, evaluate)
Here we are almost at the end of the book. How will the story end? (predict, solve, question)
What are you curious to know more about in the story? I wonder if….(propose, evaluate)

Provided by Home of the Literacy Ambassador®.