Login

Home

Using Wordless Picture Books

One of the ways I have encouraged students to tell stories is by telling what action they see in a wordless picture book. Many students have trouble creating a story from their imaginations due to being shy or having a limited vocabulary. 

 
Wordless picture books have amazing illustrations. Three of my favorite wordless picture books are Frog, Where Are You? by Mercer Mayer, April Wilson’s Magpie Magic, and Tuesday by David Wiesner. 
 
I encourage students to tell the story as if he or she were a part of the story rather than an outside narrator. This creates the need for dialogue rather than narration. When students try to tell about the story rather than be part of the story, guide them by asking, “What happened to you next? How did you feel? What did you say?” 
 
Magpie Magic is a two-character story. It is fun to first tell the story as the frustrated artist and then as the mischievous magpie. Each perspective is different and could be told tandem by two tellers.
 
It is also fun to make a wordless picture book of a familiar tale with hidden surprises in the illustration that may or may not change the telling of the story. Groups can work together to draw the story even on a large sheet of butcher paper that can be unrolled as the story is told.
 
Children’s librarians are wonderful resources. If seeking online resources, make sure to search for wordless picture books to find books of illustrations that tell story rather than easy-to-read picture books.
 
Mayer, Mercer. Frog, Where Are You? New York: Dial Books, 1969.
Wiesner, David. Tuesday. New York: Clarion, 1991.
Wilson, April. Magic Magpie. New York: Dial, 1999.