Picture books really do make for a special reading experience because they can be shared with the little ones in your life. Wordless picture books provide an even more unique reading experience because storytelling can become collaborative. You don’t need to know how to read stories to tell stories, so this can be a fun feature for the children you share them with. As my son is learning to read, wordless picture books have given him an opportunity to read books to me, too. These books are also more interpretive, because each of us can draw different meanings from the illustrations, or notice details that the other may not. Whenever my son and I choose a wordless picture book to read together, I love how storytelling becomes something we do together.
The art of wordless picture books is also often exceptional, as it is the primary focus of the story. The author takes on the challenge of ensuring that the illustrations fully convey the story they want to tell. Although there are many wonderful wordless picture books out there, I especially love whimsical books, of which there are many.
Below, I’ve put together a collection of whimsical wordless picture books that promise breathtaking images and stories that will inspire your imagination and evoke a variety of emotions while reading. These books will take you down from the depths of the ocean and across time to a vast and curious future Earth. The pictures will make you feel something, and that’s the best part of reading.
Whimsical Wordless Picture Books
octopus by guojing
This sweet, wordless picture book from award-winning author and illustrator Guojing follows a young girl who rescues a baby octopus trapped in plastic trash on a beach. She then magically transforms into the shape of an octopus, and the pair set out together on a fantastical adventure under the sea. Guojing depicts beautiful and poignant images, and the many wordless stories she has created over the years highlight both the wonder of the natural world and the need for its protection and care. Another of his wordless picture books, the house that floatedThat’s one you won’t want to miss either.
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The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Baker
Like Guojing, Aaron Baker is another award-winning wordless picture book author to look out for. Baker’s emotional images in this story also inspire readers to appreciate and protect our world. In a future where water levels have risen dangerously high, a curious robot rescues animals in need amid crumbling and flooded buildings. Emotions of both sadness and hope are intertwined in this moving, wordless picture book.
shipwreck by David Wisner
David Wisner’s beautiful wordless picture book won the Caldecott Medal in 2007. When a boy goes to the beach in search of flotsam and other curiosities that wash ashore, he will discover a unique underwater camera. As he examines the camera’s photos, he will discover a mysterious but wonderful underwater world. Wisner’s photographs take readers into the murky, mythical depths of the ocean in an unforgettable exploration seen through the captivating perspective of the camera lens.
viewfinder By Christine Dew Chung and Salva Majocca
Although this book falls into the graphic novel genre, I wanted to include it because it is also a children’s story, and the wordless illustrations are incredibly whimsical. Talking about clean perspective like a camera lens shipwreckThis book tells a story through the frame of a viewfinder. After a young space explorer lands on an abandoned Earth, she finds a viewfinder in a school time capsule and begins to piece together what happened on the planet.
Before you go…
I hope these wordless picture books bring a sense of excitement to your life and to the children you read them with. If you want to explore more of the wordless picture book genre, you might also like these wordless comics, which feature memorable stories in comics for both children and adults.
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