Wonderful Wordless Picture Books
Have you and your children discovered the treasures to be found in wordless picture books?
Wordless books are exactly what the term implies—books that tell a story, but without printed story text.
Instead, wordless books rely on the illustrations to draw readers into the tales they tell. The illustrators of wordless books communicate emotion, humor, and engaging detail without writing a single word.
Because there are no words to “read,” wordless books can be enjoyed independently by children of all ages—whether they are readers or not. When given the opportunity, a child will often discover a story in the book’s illustrations that is far more imaginative than anything that you—or even the author himself—could have conceived. Though an author of a wordless book may have had his own story to tell, each book is a blank slate when it is read by your child.
Reading Wordless Books with Preschoolers
Wordless picture books are so much more than simply books with great pictures! These wonderful books can benefit your preschooler’s emerging literacy in three important ways.
- Wordless books help develop vocabulary and language skills in young children. As you talk to your children about the pictures in the books, they’ll learn to label objects in the pictures, assign appropriate sounds and gestures to objects, and invent a simple story plot to accompany the illustrations.
- Wordless books help develop creativity and storytelling skills. Wordless picture books naturally help pre-readers progress from listening to a story to telling a story. As they progress, children learn to devise storylines, understand sequencing, and develop oral, and eventually written, storytelling skills. Because they encourage imagination and creativity, wordless picture books are the ideal genre to develop these skills.
- Wordless books encourage book usage skills. Wordless picture books encourage appropriate book handling skills in very small children. In addition to learning to handle books with respect and appreciation, children also learn essential book-reading skills like reading from front to back, top to bottom, and left to right, and turning pages one by one.
Reading Wordless Books with Older Children
But wordless picture books aren’t just for preschoolers! These versatile books can be especially enjoyable and useful for older kids. Because of their depth and complexity, wordless books can stimulate an older child’s thinking and imagination in ways that a chapter book may not.
- Wordless picture books have amazing illustrations. Because they rely entirely on illustrations to tell a story, wordless picture books are usually illustrated in amazing detail. The artwork itself can provide hours of entertainment for an older child.
- Wordless books make great “story starters.” Older children can use a wordless book as a springboard for a creative writing assignment. Because the illustrations suggest a storyline without using words, this genre provides the ideal story starter for a struggling writer. Using wordless books as story starters helps develop basic writing skills like sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics. But beyond the basics, this story starter activity encourages story-writing skills such as plot and character development and story structure.
- Wordless books are often “mind-benders.” Many wordless books tell fantastic stories that take the mind to places it doesn’t expect to go. These books stimulate the imagination and require more mature “readers” to think deeply about the story the author is telling.
- Wordless books bring history to life. Wordless books tell historical stories in a particularly poignant way. Rich illustrations evoke an emotional response that might not be experienced if the story were told with words alone. An older child may find himself enjoying history without even realizing it!
I’ve chosen a few of my favorite wordless picture books to get you started, but don’t stop there. There are hundreds to choose from! Click on a book cover below to read reviews of my favorites for preschoolers and big kids!
My Favorite Wordless Picture Books for Little Kids:
My Favorite Wordless Books for Big Kids:
FREE Wordless Picture Books Library List
Wordless Picture Books Recommended by Our Readers
- Journey by Aaron Becker (Recommended by Andy P., AALP Graphic Designer)
- Early Bird Gets the Worm by Bruce Lansky (Recommended by Steph J. via blog comment)
- The Chicken’s Child by Margaret A. Hartelius (Recommended by Rachel O. via blog comment)
- A Small Miracle by Peter Collington (Recommended by Kim via blog comment)
- South by Patrick McDonnell (Recommended by Alicia via blog comment)
- Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (Recommended by Kelsey via blog comment)
- Chicken and Cat by Sara Varon (Recommended by Marietta via blog comment)
- The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang (Recommended by Jamie via blog comment)
- My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann (Recommended by Brooke W. via blog comment)
- Sea of Dreams by Dennis Nolan (Recommended by Christy via blog comment)
- Time Flies by Eric Rohmann (Recommended by Ginny via blog comment)
- Flotsam by David Wiesner(Recommended by Jennifer H. and Heather via blog comment)
- Wave by Suzy Lee (Recommended by Amy via blog comment)
- Zoom by Istvan Banyai (Recommended by Amy via blog comment)
- Where’s Walrus by Stephen Savage (Recommended by Bubble Ink via blog comment)
- A Ball for Daisy by Chris Racshka (Recommended by Bubble Ink via blog comment)
- Brave Molly by Brooke Boynton-Hughes (Recommended by Jennifer)
Do you have a favorite wordless picture book? Please share it in the comments and I’ll add it to our Readers’ Picks list!

All About Learning Press, Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. All proceeds from our partnership with Amazon.com will be donated to local libraries.
Susan Marold
says:Thankyou for these lists theyll be useful when Im purchasing for my school Library when we get back to normal school after COVID
Would you know of any Indigenous wordless picture books
i love Brownyn Bancroft
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this will be useful for you, Susan.
No, I’m not aware of any wordless picture books that specifically deal with indigenous peoples. I have seen at least one book illustrated by Brownyn Bancroft, but it wasn’t wordless. Interesting.
Sue Miller
says:Fantastic lists, really helpful. Thank you
Julie Jensen
says:I’m looking for a wordless picture book I came across but can’t find it again. It’s about a little black girl at grade school who stands alone in the crowd until a white girl befriends her.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceJulie,
I am not familiar with the book you described and while I sometimes have success with using a search engine to find books like this, today I couldn’t find it. I’m sorry I’m not any help. If you find the title, please let me know. It sounds like an interesting book.
Linda Ream
says:Finding the book featured in the article mesmerizing, I was wondering what the name of the book is.
The photo was of a boy focused on butterflies. Would you be able to forward the name and author of that book?
Thanks! Linda Ream.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceLinda,
Is the book you are thinking of possibly Butterfly Boy by Virginia Kroll?
Ms. Baardseth
says:Do you have suggestions that are multicultural? I am looking for wordless books that reflect First Nation Peoples.
Lisa Norris
says:Have you seen “The Arrival” by Australian author/illustrator Shaun Tan? It is a beautiful and surreal account about immigration. Suitable for older children to young adults and beyond.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceMs. Baardseth,
I am not personally aware of any wordless picture books that are about First Nation People or Native Americas. I tried searching, but have come up with nothing. There are many picture books covering the topic, but I can’t find any that are wordless.
Ms Baardseth
says:Thank you. With all the talk and purpose of building equitable sets of reading materials – this is an area that would benefit greatly from intentional sourcing. Hopefully, in the near future someone will take this task and align reading materials – including wordless book titles – to support equitable practices.
Ellen Ramirez
says:Are there information wordless picture books? I am thinking for like ELL students, learning U.S. history or specific events.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceEllen,
I don’t know of any non-fiction wordless picture books. However, there are more and more of them available for older students. Look in the graphic novel section of your library. My 11-year-old very much enjoyed The Arrival by Shaun Tan, which is a 60+ page wordless picture book showing how life was like for immigrants by comparing it to arriving on a new planet.
Teri
says:Well, Talk with Me! has information on each illustration and depicts a day in the life of toddlers. The illustrations are diverse, digital, and show families in their daily routines. It is designed to build language that revolves around a family/daily routine (waking up, eating, leaving the house, going to the park, bath time and bedtime).
Alfred
says:Its really a great information and i am really enjoyed it
Menke
says:My son loves wordless picture books. The first one we ran into was Journey by Aaron Becker. I never knew there were so many though! Grateful for the suggestions and library list.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceMenke,
Wordless picture books are wonderful! When I went looking for them at our library last year, I was pleasantly surprised to find some that are obviously for older children too, with 60+ pages and complex story lines. Wordless picture books are something children can enjoy for many years.
Dr. Rosa Alcalde Delgado
says:Awesome insights and ideas for Multilingual Learners using Wordless Picture Books!!!
Donald Knight
says:Clown by Quentin Blake is also fun.
Cindy
says:Does anyone remember the name of a wordless book about a crow or a raven and an artist that is drawing it? I used to use this for story times but I can’t locate it. It was a wonderful children’s book with gorgeous illustrations.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry, Cindy, I don’t recall one like that at all. Maybe someone else will see this and be able to help.
Melissa
says:This is the first time I have seen these books, I am interested to see how my daughter would do with this type of creative ability.
Ashley Sigrest
says:I have GOT to get some wordless books for my kiddos! In high school my 10th grade English teacher had a book with drawings & the titles for a story to go with each. Sadly the author never had the stories printed, but she used those pictures and titles to inspire us to get creative in our writing. That class & that book really ignited my own passion to be a writer! Thanks for the titles of wordless books for my kiddos!
Angela VanHoose
says:Try the Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris VanAllsburg. It’s a very clever book. I suspect that’s the book to which you are referring. :)
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceAngela,
This book looks wonderful! Thank you for the recommendation!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceAshley,
Too bad the author didn’t get them published; I’d a love such a book as story starters for writing.
Jessica
says:I’m bookmarking this post! I used to LOVE wordless picture books when I was little. I would like to get some from my son. Chalk is fun. We have borrowed that one from the library before. :)
Deirdre
says:These are interesting. I think my youngest child might like these, but my two readers I am not sure they would.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceDeirdre,
If you approach it as a writing assignment they might. At least it would be more fun than a book report or essay.
Heather Castillo
says:My boys love wordless books. They really use their creativity and imagination.
brandy
says:My boys love making up stories to go along with the pictures in wordless books!
Diana McBride
says:We absolutely LOVED the “Carl” books by Alexandra Day, the wordless stories both captured and captivated everyone from Grandma right through mom dad down to our youngest baby!!! We can’t pass up any of these books and sure showed me the benefits of wordless books too ! Highly recommend !
Jodi
says:We have enjoyed wordless books, really brings out the creativity in us all. Great list!
Hope
says:Nice thing about wordless books, is children can use their imagination to create their own stories!
Heather C.
says:I’ve always loved wordless books
Wendy Thelen
says:I have wondered what to do with these books. Thanks for the ideas.
Jessica Rasmussen
says:What a great idea. My daughter would love these.
Adriane
says:I have never tried these books. Looking forward to sitting down with my daughter and seeing where her imagination takes us.
Annie
says:I had never heard of these until a couple of days ago reading Jim Trelease’s “The Read Aloud Handbook” (amazing, btw) and now after reading this post I can’t wait to pick up a stack at the library. =D
Elizabeth Wallace
says:This is a beautiful way to connect with children
Navine
says:Best spelling program ever. My 6 year spells like a pro.
Sarah Lukitsch
says:I forgot all about these! I’ll have to get some soon as my 5 year old son has been all about story telling and making his own books lately. I’m sure he would love them!
Jena
says:These are such great resources for developing creative thoughts and stoties!
Jennifer
says:I love wordless picture books. They are such a great way to fuel imagination and reading.