On the eighth day of Christmas...
...my true love gave to me, wordless books!
Wordless books are a genre dedicated to the imagination. The pictures tell the story and each reader can imagine his or her own details. I use wordless books in my classroom all the time. They are extra fun to read over and over again, each time making up a new story to go along with the pictures. Here are a few sure to leave you speechless, hehe.
The Lion and the Mouse
ages 5 to 8
Jerry Pinkney won a Caldecott Award for this "nearly" wordless book in 2010. He beautifully retells Aesop's fable with a combination of water color and colored pencil. The only words to appear in the book are the sounds of some animals. My favorite part is when the mouse rescues the lion from a net. Pinkney builds suspense by breaking this part into storyboards, each panel capturing the courage of the mouse. In his author's note, Pinkney says he set the story in the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya because the wildlife is, "so awesome yet fragile - not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes starring in this great tale for all times."
Wave and Shadow
ages 5 to 8
Suzy Lee created a book that tells of a day at the beach. The pictures show a delightful battle between a little girl and one wave. The story, which uses a palette of beautiful blues, shows just what might come your way if you stick your tongue out at a wave.
I also recommend Suzy's latest wordless book called Shadow. It features the same girl but this time she is having fun in the attic before dinner. Both books are created in long rectangular shapes. By doing this, Suzy Lee creates stories meant to be spread out over two pages. In Wave it helps create the contrast between the girl and the wave, and in Shadow it splits the world of shadows and the the real-life objects creating those shadows, that is until the shadows start to take over.
Tuesday
ages 5 to 8
David Wiesner has created many wordless books. Tuesday won a Caldecott Award in 1992. The pictures, and one word, show a mysterious evening in a pond. All of a sudden the frogs start flying through the air on lily pads and take off through town. Why, exactly? Well, that is for YOU to decide!
Wordless books are a genre dedicated to the imagination. The pictures tell the story and each reader can imagine his or her own details. I use wordless books in my classroom all the time. They are extra fun to read over and over again, each time making up a new story to go along with the pictures. Here are a few sure to leave you speechless, hehe.
The Lion and the Mouseages 5 to 8
Jerry Pinkney won a Caldecott Award for this "nearly" wordless book in 2010. He beautifully retells Aesop's fable with a combination of water color and colored pencil. The only words to appear in the book are the sounds of some animals. My favorite part is when the mouse rescues the lion from a net. Pinkney builds suspense by breaking this part into storyboards, each panel capturing the courage of the mouse. In his author's note, Pinkney says he set the story in the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya because the wildlife is, "so awesome yet fragile - not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes starring in this great tale for all times."
Wave and Shadow
Suzy Lee created a book that tells of a day at the beach. The pictures show a delightful battle between a little girl and one wave. The story, which uses a palette of beautiful blues, shows just what might come your way if you stick your tongue out at a wave.
I also recommend Suzy's latest wordless book called Shadow. It features the same girl but this time she is having fun in the attic before dinner. Both books are created in long rectangular shapes. By doing this, Suzy Lee creates stories meant to be spread out over two pages. In Wave it helps create the contrast between the girl and the wave, and in Shadow it splits the world of shadows and the the real-life objects creating those shadows, that is until the shadows start to take over.Tuesday
David Wiesner has created many wordless books. Tuesday won a Caldecott Award in 1992. The pictures, and one word, show a mysterious evening in a pond. All of a sudden the frogs start flying through the air on lily pads and take off through town. Why, exactly? Well, that is for YOU to decide!
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