I enjoyed our recent discussion of favorite children’s books so much that I wanted write a follow-up. A lot of teachers have mentioned that they have already bookmarked it for future reference. This blog exists for exactly that reason – to be a resource for teachers.
My favorite genre of children’s literature is wordless picture books. It’s fun to see kids get swept away in these books. The artwork is usually stellar and the author’s/ illustrator’s work typically invokes our creative interpretations. Wordless picture books can be a great way to encourage higher order thinking, creativity, and self-expression. They can often be used to practice the elements of a story (setting, plot, character, etc.) or to initiate activities in creative writing, art, drama, multi-media, etc. It’s often a good way to level the playing field with regard to student reading levels. Here are a few of my very favorite wordless picture books.
The Silver Pony – One of the very first books I “read” from my elementary school library. This book has many elements that I have always enjoyed: horses, Greek mythology, art, imagination and creativity. I wish I knew how many times I checked out this book. I need to go buy a copy for our family library.
Animalia – Another outstanding work by Graeme Base.
Tuesday – Mostly a wordless picture book about frogs.
I am a big fan of Graeme Base and “Animalia”. I would also highly recommend his “The Eleventh Hour” which I had a great time with when I was a kid. For other children’s book resources, I’ve found a lot of great workbooks and teaching aids at http://www.dedicatedteacher.com which are downloadable and easy to use. Keep up the great blog, Clif!
kmulford,
You can actually post HTML in these comment boxes. This would allow you to modify the text and insert links.
Deep in the Forest is new to me. We’ll be checking it out from our library this week.
The one that comes to mind first is Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle. It’s the classic Goldilocks story in reverse, with the baby bear stopping into the house of Golidlocks’ family. Great artwork, as you said. Expressions on the baby bear’s face are priceless.
Another favorite is Flotsam, by David Weisner, who is the author of Tuesday that you mention above. I get something new out of this book every time I look through it.
My last choice is an ALMOST wordless picture book: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. The words here are captions, but rather than clarifying the picture, they make its meaning more intriguing and elusive.
What I like most about wordless picture books is their ability to be favorites across grade levels. Most of these found their way into my classroom library whether I taught kindergarten or eighth grade. My best readers loved the artistic detail and the spur to their imagination. My struggling readers could enjoy them for the same reasons, but without having to grapple with difficulties presented to them by text.
Great post! I’ll watch future comments to infuse new life into this portion of my personal library!