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When Words Don't Matter: Top 15 Wordless Books


It's no exaggeration to say it has taken me years to enjoy the world of wordless picture books. At first, I felt pushed outside my comfort zone without the safety net of the written word to stitch the story together. So I was always treading carefully, one page after the other. And then something clicked. After many hours spent flicking back and forth between their covers, I was finally able to positively embrace the feeling of not knowing what the next page-turn would bring. Now, I have come to a point where I love and appreciate them.



I have to admit I owe this to Sara, my three-year-old daughter, who always seems to gravitate towards wordless books for our evening story time. 'Mommy, let's read one of the 'thinking' books', she says. And I have to give it to her; every time she picks one from her bookshelf, I know I can't just mechanically recite the text while my thoughts drift away to today's events or tomorrow's errands.


Wordless books force you to be present. By removing the crutch of the written word, we don't fall as readers, but to our surprise - fly, as we gain enough perspective to design the pace of the story and choose which details to focus on. More often than not there is a logical narrative thread, but as we navigate image by image, the lack of text frees us to create our own script, which, unsurprisingly, changes almost every time. There is a fluidity to the story behind a wordless book that pulls the reader in and keeps them there, encouraging the child to engage, stay flexible to the changes the plot brings and, most importantly, ask questions. This approach helps young minds feel empowered, part of the process, designers and (why not) architects of the storyline. They essentially become co-authors.



Perhaps these are precisely the reasons behind Sara's love for this specific genre. I often notice her studying every page with wide-open eyes, as if seeing the carefully detailed graphics for the first time, every time. On other occasions, she simply giggles at seeing me slightly uncomfortable when trying to make sense of what I’m looking at (David Wiesner, you're a mind-bender).


Also, being a trilingual family, wordless books are the only ones that her father and I can 'read' in our native languages, together or separately. Since young children are developmentally egocentric, not because they're selfish but because they haven't yet developed the ability to consider other points of view, wordless books can be a wonderful introduction to the concept that we all see the world from our own unique perspective. The lack of text creates the space to explore ourselves, acknowledge other's interpretations of the world and, ultimately, reflect on the beauty of being different.


But enough words for now, here are our top 15 favourites:

 

1. Flotsam by David Wiesner (2006)


A young boy comes to the beach eager to collect and examine flotsam—anything floating that has been washed ashore. But nothing among his usual finds compares with the discovery of a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera with its own secrets to share . . . and to keep.


*Caldecott-winning picture book;

 

2. Island by Mark Janssen (2018)


Shipwreck! A father, daughter and their dog wash up on a small island. Little do the castaways know that the island isn't what it seems at all.

 

3. Another by Christian Robinson (2019)


A little girl wakes up to see her cat going through a portal which opened up in her room late at night. She follows, only to discover that there is a secret world where everyone has an alternate version of themselves.


*A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019

 

4. Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson (2015)


In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. "Written" by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people, and small gestures.


* Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book

* A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year

 

5. Seasons Gift Collection by Gerda Muller (2018)


Gerda Muller's beautiful 'seasons' board books are loved the world over. As spring arrives children play with lambs, sow seeds and paint Easter eggs. In summer they fish for tadpoles, play at the beach and eat ice-cream. By autumn the leaves have fallen and it's time to collect horse chestnuts, fly kites and make jam. In winter the snow has come and they have fun ice-skating, feeding the birds, and being cosy inside with the Christmas tree.

 

6. Tuesday by David Wiesner (2011)


The story begins in the early evening on a Tuesday and all is quiet at the pond. All of a sudden, the frogs begin to levitate on their lily pads and travel into a nearby town.


*Caldecott-winning picture book

 

7. Lines by Suzy Lee (2017)


It starts with a line. Whether made by the tip of a pencil or the blade of a skate, the magic starts there. This seemingly simple story about a young skater on a frozen pond will charm the youngest of readers while simultaneously astounding book enthusiasts of any age.


* Best Illustrated Books lists and nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international honor given to children's book creators

 

8. Migrants by Issa Watanabe (2020)


The migrants must leave the forest. Borders are crossed, sacrifices made, loved ones are lost. It takes such courage to reach the end. At last the journey is over and the migrants arrive. This is the new place.


With forceful simplicity, Migrants narrates the journey of a group of animals leaving a leafless forest. Borders must be crossed, sacrifices made, loved ones left behind.

 

9. The Umbrella by Dieter Schubert (2011)


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.


*received the 2012 Outstanding International Best Book of the Year Award and The United States Board on Books for Young People Award

 

10. The Red Book by Barbara Leham (2004)


This book is about a book. A magical red book without any words. When you turn the pages you'll experience a new kind of adventure through the power of story.


* Caldecott Honor–winning picture book

 

11. Journey by Aaron Becker (2013)


A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound.

 

12. The Lion and The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (2009)


In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted.


* Caldecott Honor–winning picture book

 

13. Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole (2016)


Follow Spot as he weaves through busy city streets, visits a farmers market, wanders into a park full of kite-flyers, and beyond. But while Spot is out on his adventure, his beloved boy owner is looking for him—seeming to just miss him every time.

 

14. Free Fall by David Wiesner (1988)


When he falls asleep with a book in his arms, a young boy dreams an amazing dream—about dragons, about castles, and about an unchartered, faraway land. And you can come along.


*Caldecott-winning picture book;

 

15. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (1982)


A little boy rushes out into the wintry day to build a snowman, which comes alive in his dreams that night. The boy invites him home and in return is taken on a flight high above the countryside.


 

Book Review: Migrants (2020) by Issa Watanabe

A silent picture book that speaks volumes on the painful realities of migration and the power of hope.


Migrants (2020) by Issa Watanabe

Silent books create the opportunity for us to become actively engaged in the story as they design the space for our children and us to process ideas at our own pace. Most importantly, they motivate us to reflect upon our own experiences. By casting aside the support of the written word, readers are encouraged to summarize, make deductions or interpret and evaluate visual information in a way that becomes meaningful to them, to their own story.


Through her story Migrants, Peruvian artist Issa Watanabe replaces words with powerful, strikingly colourful graphics that shed light on the painful realities of migration and the force that is hope.


The visual narrative unfolds through a group of anthropomorphic animals moving across haunting, nocturnal backgrounds. We witness the animals leaving behind a barren, leafless forest, crossing unknown territories and waters to eventually arrive at their destination – a fertile, colourful land. Watanabe lays out a complex landscape of themes and emotions - diversity, rejection, sorrow, grief and pain, compassion and kindness – as you accompany the animals on their way. Nevertheless, it is a strong sense of ‘hope’ that keeps the community together in the face of adversity and acts as their inner compass. As the book ends, are they about to live their happy ending? In reality, their journey towards inclusion and adaptation is just about to begin.


Migrants opens up the reader to navigating a myriad of emotions, encouraging us to relate to situations and explore, not brush over, difficult topics.


In an interview for Geko Press, the author explains:

Sometimes, we overprotect our children and we try to avoid sad stories and difficult themes. This tale is graphic: it is a sad story because forced migration is a sad theme, and it is important that it is told this way.

- Issa Watanabe


But expect each theme, no matter how deep, to be addressed with sensitivity and respect. The author captures the group's diversity through the careful detailing of more than thirty different animals, each belonging to a variety of species and ecosystems. This approach of universalizing their image rather than falling into stereotypes allows children (and adults alike) to empathize with the core story. Each beautifully illustrated character has his own identity, personality and individuality. Still, during the trip they function as one single unit: they share tasks and food, they rest and dream, nurture the younger members of the community, support each other and finally, and most importantly, they unite in the face of loss.



It is the frail, looming presence of the cloak-dressed skeleton, riding its blue ibis, which truly gives the narrative dimension. Once again, the author lays out in the open the most painful reality of a migrant's journey: the potential of death. It is she, ‘Death’, who faithfully accompanies these animals on their tortuous journey, without pretending to be threatening but instead warning them of possible dangers and cradling them when there is no longer a solution. While the interactions with death are palpable, both in the physical or oneiric dream environment, she is never truly accepted as part of the narrative. Instead, death always walks a few steps behind the group, both misfit and witness, friend and enemy. And yet, her presence cannot be negated - she is part of the whole, part of life, part of their journey.


As we zoom in and out of each page, we find ourselves unlocking each metaphor making use of our own inner codes, asking more profound questions and becoming more open to discussing difficult themes. Without casting a single letter on the paper's surface, the book itself has become a safe space, for adult and children alike to raise and discuss sensitive topics without sugar-coating reality.

As we close the book, the animals on the back cover invite us to open the book once again. It is a story without end, one that deserves to gain a voice loud enough to be heard by all to facilitate change.


Age recommendation: 5-8

About the author

Issa Watanabe was born in Peru in 1980, the daughter of an illustrator and a poet. She studied Literature and Fine Arts and Illustration. Watanabe has led and developed several projects to promote social integration through art. She has published a number of books and was selected for the Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair 2018.


Book Review: Press Here - Hervé Tullet

'Press Here. That's right. Just press the Yellow Dot. And turn the page.'


for DAM Deutsches Architekturmuseum

Press Here is an interactive picture book that goes beyond pop-ups, touch-and-feel, and sound or lighting effects. Instead, it addresses its little reader directly and lets all the magic happing in her or his imagination, all within the realm of the paper format.


The book begins with a yellow painted at the center of a blank page, inviting the reader to simply… press here. With every instruction the child follows, the book seems to respond at the turn of a page. Shake, tap, blow, clap! Dots multiply and disappear, move, mix, and slide across the page. It's perhaps this very mixture of math and art that I, as an architect, found so incredibly appealing and that I felt the need to introduce my daughter to.