Wordless picture books; growing imagination and understanding

Why go wordless?

If someone were to ask me to recommended a book for all caregivers to read with their child; I would answer without a doubt: Tuesday by David Wiesner. This book has it ALL! Brilliant illustrations, flying frogs, confused dogs and…six words in the entire book! You may wonder why, as a librarian, I would recommend a book with so few words. ‘Isn’t literacy all about words and reading’ you might ask. Yes, literacy is about words, about understanding how those words sound, look and are arranged; and literacy is about adventuring through a story, understanding what you see on the page and how you interact with that page. Wordless (or nearly wordless in the case of Tuesday) picture books bring the reader (of any age or spoken language) into the story in a way that books with words can not.

When words create a barrier, the lack of words welcomes you right into the story and allows you to enjoy the book with more of your senses, and your very own imagination. Wordless picture books have the power to bridge learning gaps, attention gaps and language barriers.

For our uninterested children

One of my very special 1st grade patrons’ caregiver came to me, looking for something that would finally hold his attention and get him on the path to reading. He did not want to sit and read, he was not interested in learning the words and their rules, he likes to build, and he likes science. So of course the first thing I did was hand her Tuesday by David Wiesner and Chalk by Bill Thompson. She was skeptical; she wasn’t sure that picture books would hold his attention and he wasn’t into frogs. I asked her to trust me, I told her this will allow him to really dive into the story. I thought he would enjoy figuring out the illustrations and how they worked together. I told her that she could have him walk her through the story and that it could make him more invested in ‘reading’. I assured her that if this didn’t work I would help her to find some other books that he might like. A few days later I was told that the caregiver had come looking for me; to tell me that the child enjoyed Tuesday so much that they had to go buy the book and he was reading it every day! I was thrilled with this information. The next time I saw her she told me about how he picked out all of the details, explained them to her and used his love of science to come up with a hypothesis about the story and explain why he thought that. She said he would sit and go through the book with her, she was enjoying the time they were spending together. I showed her some of my other favorite wordless picture books and now she comes in looking for my specific recommendations!

ESL Conversation Starters

Wordless picture books are the perfect for conversation starters, whether we are saving space for our children and caregivers to connect with each other or thinking about our patrons who do not speak English, we can share these books with everyone. ESL tutors and those learning to converse in another language can talk about what they see and talk together.

Journey with your imagination

Authors who have created wordless picture books have trusted us with their imagination and allow us to slow down and take in the world that they have created. We can let our imaginations guide us through the pages, we can adventure on our own, or invite a child to guide us, opening a dialogue between our young friends in a back and forth conversation about what we see and what those images make us think and feel. Wordless picture books take away the anxiety of not understanding the words on the page, the distraction of too much to look at and the overall barriers so many children and adults face when they pick up a book.

Quality time

In my library we are very intentional about creating a space where caregivers and children interact with each other or those around them. We have lots of seating for reading together, toys for playing, crayons and paper, and a ‘wow this is tricky’ monthly scavenger hunt. You will not find computers or laptops, our technology items are for circulation only, and just by happenstance, the wifi is awful in the children’s room. All of this amounts to a community space where children learn through play and social interaction. Children pick books off the many shelves; curl up with their caregivers and enjoy a story. This intentional design of quality time is something I hope continues outside of the library when our patrons leave. Wordless picture books are a very special bridge for children and caregivers to bond and use their imaginations together.

This post addresses ALSC Core Competencies 1. Commitment to Client Group and IV. Collection Knowledge and Management