A Word on Wordless Books

As a writer, I was very skeptical the first time I heard the term “Wordless book”. I was also very surprised to discover that these books had, not only an illustrator, but an author! I remember thinking, “What kind of writer writes a book with no words?”

The answer to that question is, a GENIUS one!

Wordless books allow children to see a story with their own eyes and use their imagination to fill in the details. This means that each child that “reads” the book will come away with a different take on it. Wordless books allow young readers to sort of become writers themselves as they look at the pictures and create their own character ideas, sounds, dialogue and actions. This is not to say that wordless books do not have a story, indeed they do have an exact plot they are trying to portray, but a lot of the components are left to the viewers imagination.

When I think back to my own childhood and then to my years of babysitting, I think about books that children “read” before they actually know how to read. Many times I have seen a young child open a book and begin to tell a story that does not match the words of the author. They simply look at the pictures and tell what is happening in their own words. Young readers are very creative this way with their characters and their plots.

So really children have had this idea for a long time. Now we’re just removing the words of these books for young children and allowing their imagination to get a work out. To hear a podcast of one of my favorite wordless books click here....ha ha just kidding!