10 Wordless Picture Books to Help Your Child Become a Better Reader

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him." -Maya Angelou

In the article "Kindergartner's Emergent Strategy Use During Wordless Picture Book Reading" by Judith Lysaker and Elizabeth Hopper (Purdue University), Lysaker and Hopper say they have no problem with the “pushdown” of literacy expectations to kindergarten, noting that “in many classrooms around the world, children read at the age of 5 and 6.” But they disagree with pushing down parts of the primary-grade literacy curriculum that are developmentally inappropriate. “An early emphasis on specific aspects of print processing and reading subskills may crowd out opportunities for children to develop more broadly as meaning makers,” they say.¹

The bridge, say Lysaker and Hopper, is wordless picture books. When kindergarten teachers use these books well, students get practice at reading images and developing a number of early print-related strategies – searching, cross-checking, self-correction, and rereading.  Check out this list of books that Lysaker and Hopper recommend for young readers:

 

 

2. Pancakes for Breakfast by T. DePaola (HMH Books for Young Readers, 1978)

 

3. The Zoo by S. Lee (Kane/Miller Publishers, 2007)

 

4. Frog, Where Are You? by M. Mayer (Dial, 1969)

 

5. A Boy, A Dog, A Frog, and a Friend by M. Mayer (Dial, 1971)

 

6. Frog on His Own by M. Mayer (Dial, 1973)

 

7. Frog Goes to Dinner by M. Mayer (Dial, 1974)

 

8. One Frog Too Many by M. Mayer (Dial, 1975)

 

9. The Lion and the Mouse by J. Pinkney (Little, Brown, 2009)

 

10. Good Night, Gorilla by P. Rathmann (Putnam Juvenile, 1996)