Wordless Books 2015

Wordless Books 2015

Tell your own story!

Stretch your imagination by sharing a wordless story together. This is a perfect way to expand children’s vocabulary and turn on their imaginations. *Starred titles are just right for beginning readers.

*JP ALH Hug

Hug by Jez Alborough tells the touching tale of a baby chimpanzee wanting a hug. As he wanders through the jungle he sees all the other animals, from elephants to snakes, cuddling up with their families. He gets increasingly upset as he realises there are no hugs for him. Eventually he finds his mother and gets the hug he needs.

JP BAK MirrorMirror

MirrorMirror by Jeannie Baker has a unique format which allows two stories to be read simultaneously, one from the left to right, following Western conventions, and the other from right to left, following the conventions of Arabic books. The stunning images describe a day in the lives of two boys and their families - one from inner city Sydney, Australia and the other from a small, remote village in Morocco, North Africa.

JP BAN (Caldecott) The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang

The strawberry snatcher tries to wrest the strawberries from the grey lady but as he follows her through shops and woods he discovers some delicious blackberries instead.

JP BEC Journey and Quest by Aaron Becker

Using a red marker, a young girl draws a door on her bedroom wall and through it enters another world where she experiences many adventures, including being captured by an evil emperor.

JP BOY Flashlight by Lizi Boyd

In this story without words, a boy explores the woods after dark with a flashlight.

JP BRO Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Bored with city life and the proper behavior it requires, Mr. Tiger has a wild idea that leads him to discover his true nature.

JP BRI The Snowman

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is about a little boy who builds a snowman which magically comes to life. The boy shows him his cozy home, which the snowman is fascinated to discover, and then the snowman introduces the boy to his wintry world

JP COL Unspoken

Unspoken: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole In an accessible wordless picture book, a young Southern farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding behind the corn crib in the barn. This original story is filled with hope and love.

JP CRE Truck by Donald Crews

Follows the journey of a truck from loading to unloading.

JP DAY Good Dog, Carl

Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day is a fun book, if you can get over the fact that a mother leaves her baby in the charge of a rottweiler! With endearing illustrations and lots of humour, we follow the baby's adventures during their eventful day, including sliding down the laundry chute and swimming in the fish tank. Carl, the rottweiler, then bathes the infant, cleans up all the mess and waits nonchalantly for the mother to come home.

*JP DEP Pancakes for Breakfast

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola is a wordless picture book which follows the trials of a little old lady who attempts to make pancakes for her breakfast. However, there are several obstacles to be overcome before she can achieve her goal.

JP DEV The Conductor

The Conductor by Laetitia Devermay

Pairing two seemingly disparate elements—an orchestra conductor and a grove of trees, the narrative nearly roars with sound as the conductor prompts the leaves to rustle, then whirl, then swirl to unexpected life with each turn of the page. It is a celebration of creativity, imagination, storytelling, and the renewing power of nature that will entrance readers of every age.

*JP FLE Sidewalk Circus

Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischman
A young girl watches as the activities across the street from her bus stop become a circus.

JP FRA The Farmer and the Clown

The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee

A baby clown is separated from his family when he accidentally bounces off their circus train and lands in a lonely farmer’s vast, empty field. The farmer reluctantly rescues the little clown, and over the course of one day together, the two of them make some surprising discoveries about themselves—and about life!

*JP HOB Tana Hoban Colors Everywhere

Colors Everywhere by Tana Hoban
Looks at the colors that surround us and makes us see them in new ways.

JP IDL(Caldecott) Flora and the Flamingo

Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle

Flora and her graceful flamingo friend explore the trials and joys of friendship through an elaborate synchronized dance. With a twist, a turn, and even a flop, these unlikely friends learn at last how to dance together in perfect harmony. Full of humor and heart, this stunning performance (and splashy ending!) will have readers clapping for more!

JP LEE Shadow

Shadow by Suzy Lee

A dark attic, a light bulb and an imaginative little girl: these simple elements to create a visual tour de force that perfectly captures the joy of creative play and celebrates the power of imagination in an adventure that begins and ends with the click of a light bulb.

JP LEE Wave

Wave by Suzy Lee is a tender and amusing wordless picture book about a little girl who spends a day at the beach engaging in imaginative play with an ocean wave. As with all games with waves, the girl ends up getting soaked. The beautiful, simple illustrations in this book are all drawn in just two shades of watercolour - grey and vibrant blue.

*JP LEH Museum Trip

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman
In this wordless picture book, a boy imagines himself inside some of the exhibits when he goes on a field trip to a museum.

*JP LEH (Caldecott) The Red Book

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman is a 2005 Caldecott Honor Book about a magical red book which enables a city girl and a faraway island boy to view each other through the pages of the book. A friendship is formed and the girl sets off to find the boy. This would be an ideal stimulus for a creative writing activity.

JP LEH Rainstorm

Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman

It can be lonely sometimes on a rainy day in a big house with no one else around and there’s only the quiet to keep you company. But if you find a key, a mysterious key, that leads you to an unexpected place . . . chances are your afternoon is about to get a lot more interesting.

*TB MAY A Boy, a Dog and a Frog

A Boy, a Dog and a Frog by Mercer Mayer is about a boy and a dog who go for a walk and spot a frog in a pond. Their various attempts at capturing the frog end in failure and so they set off home to clean up. However, the frog realises he is now lonely and so follows the boy and the dog back to their house and into the bathroom, joining them in the bath tub.

JB Matisse MAC The iridescence of birds : a book about Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan

JP McC Picnic by Emily Arnold McCully

A little mouse gets lost on the way to a family picnic.

*JP NEW Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug

Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug by Mark Newgarden
A wordless picture book about a persistent terrier who spends a day following a bug through his neighborhood.

JP PET The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett

Kindness needs no words in this soaring tale that is ideal for gift. When a little boy’s prized toy airplane lands on a rooftop, he makes several rescue attempts before devising an unexpected solution

*JP PIN ( Caldecott) The Lion & the Mouse

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney was the 2010 Caldecott Award Winner. It is an adaption of an Aesop fable and contains vivid artwork of the African Serengeti with expressively-drawn, but still realistic, animals. A ferocious lion spares the life of an adventurous mouse. The mouse finds a way of returning the favor by freeing him from a poacher's trap.

*TB and JP RAT Good Night, Gorilla

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman starts with a zookeeper saying goodnight to a gorilla, but the mischievous gorilla is not ready to go to sleep. He follows the zookeeper around, letting all of the other animals out of their cages, before following the zookeeper to his bedroom and getting into bed. It takes the zookeeper's wife to ensure all (or nearly all) the animals return to their cages.

JP RODThe Chicken Thief

The Chicken Thief by Béatrice Rodriguez

The chase is on! This charming, funny wordless picture book is a road movie and love story made for children that is just as entertaining for adults

In this wordless story that is both funny and sweet, a fox seemingly steals a hen away from her home. Hen's friends (Bear, Rabbit and Rooster) give chase, but in a twist on the usual children's story this fox is not a villian.

JP ROH Time Flies by Eric Rohmann

A wordless tale in which a bird flying around the dinosaur exhibit in a museum has an unsettling experience when it finds itself back in the time of living dinosaurs.

JP RUT Coming Home by Greg Ruth

Follows the emotions of a young boy as he waits at an airport for a family member to return home from serving in the military.

JP SCH The Umbrella

The Umbrella by Ingrid Schubert; Dieter Schubert

A little dog finds an umbrella in the garden on a windy day. The moment the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog skywards. This is the start to fantastic journey around the world. The wind carries the umbrellas and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the north pole and more.A little dog finds an umbrella in the garden on a windy day. The moment the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog skywards. This is the start to fantastic journey around the world. The wind carries the umbrellas and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the north pole.(les

*JP SIS Dinosaur!

Dinosaur! by Peter Sis
While taking a bath, a young boy is joined by all sorts of dinosaurs.

JP STE (Caldecott) A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead

Amos McGee, a friendly zoo keeper, always makes time to visit his animal friends, but when he becomes sick and cannot come in to work, the animals pay him a visit instead.

JP STE Sebastien and the Balloon by Philip Stead

"When Sebastian launches himself on a journey in a hot air balloon made entirely of Grandma's afghans and patchwork quilts, his boring day turns into the adventure of a lifetime.”

*JP TAF Caldecott Have You Seen My Duckling?

Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri

An anxious mother duck leads her brood around the pond as she searches for one missing duckling.

JP THO Chalk

Chalk by Bill Thomson tells the story of three multicultural children who find a bag of chalk in a playground. To their amazement, everything they draw becomes real. Then one of the children draws a dinosaur and they all have to run for cover. Fortunately their creativity enables them to defeat the dinosaur. The beautiful, detailed illustrations look like photographs but have actually been meticulously painted by hand.
JP WIE (Caldecott) Flotsam

Flotsam by David Wiesner is a 2007 Caldecott Award Winner about a magical camera which washes up on a beach and is found by an excited boy. He quickly develops the film he finds inside the camera and views the amazingly bizarre pictures the film contains. The last photo is of a girl holding a photo of a boy, holding a photo of a girl and so on. The boy photographs himself holding the print and then tosses the camera back into the sea, setting it on its journey towards the next recipient.

JP WIE( Caldecott) Tuesday

Tuesday is another incredible wordless picture book by David Wiesner. One mysterious night a squadron of frogs rise on their lily pads and float across the night sky, exploring the nearby houses while their inhabitants sleep. As morning approaches, the frogs return to their pond, leaving their lilypads scattered around the street, to the bewilderment of the police. This 1992 Caldecott Award Winner is a beautiful and humorous book, illustrated with rich watercolors cleverly depicting the moonlit night.

Mountainside Public Library (revised 4-2015) ep www.mountainsidelibrary.org