Wolf in the Snow

This nearly wordless picture book, set on the prairie, tells the story of a little girl who gets lost in a snowstorm on her way home from school and a wolf pup who becomes separated from his pack during the same snowstorm. Before the title page, there are vignettes of the child with her family and in her red parka setting off for school. The story opens with the little girl leaving school to walk home as the snow starts to fall. As the snow picks up, the wolf pup gets separated from his pack and the little girl gets lost. The two meet in what has now become a blizzard, and the child picks up the frightened wolf pup and trudges on. She hears the wolf pack howling in the distance and moves toward their howling, carrying the pup over hills, across a stream and through the woods, reuniting the pup with his pack. She tries to make it back home but falls, exhausted and unconscious in the snow. The wolves have followed her, and lick her face to wake her. When that doesn’t work, they start howling. Their howls alert her parents and guide them to her. The last scene shows the parents and child at home, cozy in front of the fire with hot cocoa.

The pen and ink drawings and watercolor illustrations in this book have just the right amount of detail and do a wonderful job depicting the emotions of the story. The desperation of being lost in a blizzard, the girl’s exhaustion, the wolves’ concern for the girl and the cozy safety of home at the journey’s end are all clearly conveyed without a word. Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell, is a heartwarming story of kindness and courage that is perfect for one-on-one sharing.

Guest post by Allison C. 

Flora and the Penguin

If you liked Flora and the Flamingo, you’re sure to enjoy Molly Idle’s latest wordless book, Flora and the Penguin. Flora’s second outing takes place on ice, as she and her penguin friend play, explore, and experience some relationship highs and lows. The pictures are cute and the plot is fun, but the best part is getting to tell the story in your own words. Depending on the storyteller or even just the day, this one book could be told in countless ways. For more information on the importance of wordless books for your budding reader, check out one of my earlier posts here.

Nest

Books with little to no text are great for reading to your youngsters. They allow for different and creative interpretations of the books and open up lots of opportunities for discussion about the illustrations. Jorey Hurley’s beautifully illustrated new title, Nest, is one such book.

Nest introduces us to two robins who are keeping watch over their egg and shows the family’s adventures over the course of a year, through the changing seasons. The book includes only one word of text in each double-page spread, allowing you, the reader, to tell your own version of the story. In addition, because of the limited text, it’s a great book for brand-new readers.

Stop in to enjoy this gorgeous new book. And, if this leaves you wanting to read some wordless books, check out this old post with some great wordless book suggestions!

Got Words?

 

It may seem counterintuitive to help your child learn to read using wordless books (since reading does involve words and all…). These books, however, are actually great for developing some important pre-reading skills.

Since they show a clear order of events—first, next, then, finally—wordless books can help children develop narrative skills. Plus, even without words, children are able to see how books are read from left to right and front to back, as they follow the illustrations.

In her book, The ABCs of Literacy: Preparing Our Children for Lifelong Learning, Cynthia Collins acknowledges the important role that these books play, especially in language development: “…wordless books promote language development because children experiment with finding the precise word or phrase to accurately portray the image presented. When parents read aloud these types of texts and focus on using language inventively, our children learn from our example and take their own risks with retelling the tale.”

Wordless books also promote creativity. Even though a good portion of the plot is dictated by the illustrations, there’s always room to add more information or interpret the story in a different way. In fact, this can be a great way to keep from getting bored with a book—just change the story a little bit each time you read it!

So, if you haven’t read a wordless book with your child recently, you should try one out. Check out a few of my favorite new additions to our collection of wordless books:

Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley
Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett