In wordless books, illustrations play an essential role in delivering the intended story and engaging the reader.
Reading a wordless book to Junior opens endless opportunities for dramatization and engagement that supports higher order thinking skills. What is going on here? Did you hear something? How does a character feel? What do you think is going to happen next? Observations picked up by different readers from a book’s illustration bring about a variety of different reading experiences for the little ones along the same storyline.
Here are 3 of our classic picks!
(1) Changes Changes by Pat Hutchins
What is it about
It is a lovely wordless book about two little wooden dolls, building a house with wooden blocks until it catches fire. Working together, they transformed the house into a fire engine to put out the fire. After which, they reassembled the blocks to make a boat, a lorry, a train and eventually, back into a house again.
What we like about it
The simple illustrations allow children to use their imagination to come up with different ways of telling the story. Children can easily relate to the story and use building blocks to retell the story in their own words. Parents can also use this book to engage the children in conversations subsequently, about coping with changes. How we can go about facing problems thrown onto our comfort zones, work around the challenges and with people to solve problems whilst making the most you can out of any situation.
(2) The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
What is it about
This is a charming book about an extraordinary red book and two little children – a girl and a boy. It was first found buried in the snow by a little girl in a city, who opened it up and read it in school. The story in the book then led her to find a tropical island with a little boy, who found a red book just like hers. He starts looking through the pages and eventually sees the same little girl in her classroom, holding onto a book just like his. In the pages of the book, the two children eventually met and a new friendship is formed. And the journey of the red book is not over, as it gets picked up by a stranger on a bicycle.
What we like about it
We love how the book stretches ones imagination and allows readers to be drawn into the story. The fantastic details and creative illustrations in this book also leave great room for imagination. We especially love the ending of the story, where the book gets picked up by another person and it seems like the journey of the extraordinary red book is not over yet.
(3) Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola
What is it about
This story is about an old lady who wakes up one day and decides to make some pancakes for breakfast. She starts making the pancakes and soon realizes that she is missing quite a few ingredients. The story goes on to show how she went through great lengths to overcome the obstacles she encounters to get the necessary ingredients.
What we like about it
This delightful book has charming illustrations with a storyline that is easy to follow, especially for young children. It is also a wonderful book to teach older children about perseverance and determination. The slight humour and lovely twist at the end of the story gives readers an element of surprise. A great extension to the book would be a pancake making session with the children and guess what? The ingredients and cooking instructions are right there in the book!
As we close off the year into the festive period, we hope these light book picks add fun to the magical moments you spend reading with your child.
You can get all the above books here too: https://www.bookdepository.com/
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