Picture books make for a truly special reading experience as they can be shared with the little ones in your life. Wordless picture books offer an even more unique reading experience as the storytelling can become collaborative. You don’t have to know how to read to tell the stories, so this can be a fun feature for the kiddos you share them with. As my son has been learning how to read, wordless picture books have given him a chance to read books to me too. These books are more interpretative as well, as we each may make different meaning from the illustrations, or notice details the other might not have. Whenever my son and I pick out a wordless picture book to read with each other, I love how the storytelling becomes something we do together.
The art of wordless picture books is often exceptional as well, as it’s the primary focus of the tale. The author takes on the challenge of ensuring the illustrations can fully communicate the story they wish to tell. While there are many wonderful wordless picture books out there, I especially love the whimsical ones, of which there are many.
Below, I’ve curated a collection of whimsical wordless picture books that promise breathtaking images and stories, ones that will tug on your imagination and evoke a range of feelings as you read. These books will take you below the depths of the ocean and across time to overgrown and curious future Earths. The pictures will make you feel something, and that’s the best part about reading.
Whimsical Wordless Picture Books
The Octopus by Guojing
This sweet, wordless picture book by award-winning author and illustrator Guojing follows a young girl as she rescues a baby octopus trapped in plastic waste on the beach. She then magically gets transformed into the octopus’s size, and the pair share a fantastical adventure under the sea together. Guojing illustrates beautiful and touching images, and the many wordless stories she has created over the years highlight both the wonder of the natural world and the need to protect and care for it. Another wordless picture book by her, The House That Floated, is one you won’t want to miss either.
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The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker
Like Guojing, Aaron Becker is another award-winning wordless picture book author worth checking out. Becker’s emotive images in this story also inspire readers to appreciate and protect our world. In a future where the water levels have dangerously risen, a curious robot sails between crumbling and flooded buildings, rescuing animals in need. Both a sense of melancholy and hope intertwine within this moving, wordless picture book.
Flotsam by David Wiesner
David Wiesner’s lovely wordless picture book won the Caldecott Medal in 2007. When a boy heads to the beach in search of flotsam and other curiosities that wash ashore, he’ll find a peculiar underwater camera. As he examines the camera’s pictures, he’ll discover a mysterious yet marvelous underwater world. Wiesner’s pictures draw readers into the murky, mythical depths of the ocean in an unforgettable exploration seen through the fascinating perspective of a camera lens.
Viewfinder by Christine D. U. Chung and Salwa Majoka
While this book falls into the graphic novel genre, I wanted to include it as it’s also a children’s story, and the wordless pictures are incredibly whimsical too. Speaking of neat perspectives like the camera lens in Flotsam, this book tells a story through the frames of a viewfinder. After a young space explorer lands on an abandoned Earth, she discovers a viewfinder in a school time capsule and begins to piece together what happened to the planet.
Before You Go…
I hope these wordless picture books bring a sense of whimsy into your life and for the kiddos you read them with, too. If you’d like to explore the wordless picture book genre more, you may like these wordless comics as well, which include memorable stories in comics for both children and adults.
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