15 of the Best Wordless Picture Books to Love

As a mother and a Speech Pathologist, one of my favorite types of books to read with my children are wordless picture books. I wanted to make a list of my favorite books to save you the trouble. These are books that I still read with my children even as they grow older.

Wordless Picture Books

I love looking through the pictures and listening to my children interpret/ “read” the story.  It is such an amazing way to develop language skills, vocabulary, and imagination. I love them so much, that I selected my favorites for our reading readiness post for 3 year-olds.

The best part of wordless picture books is that the stories are never the same twice and grow with your child. What may begin as a simple story, can turn into something completely different as your child develops new skills and gets older. 

Some of the books I included below are funny while others are simple with brilliant illustrations. A few examine complex issues all without words (or very minimal words).

I hope you love this list of books with no words as much as I loved putting them together.

The Best Wordless Picture Books

Each colorful block below represents the best book in a subgenre of wordless picture books. Click on the arrow to reveal my “best” pick in any category. You’ll also be able to use a page jump to see more books in that section.

Wordless Picture Books for Younger Kids

Goodnight Gorilla

Author: Peggy Rathmann

Illustrator: Peggy Rathmann

Year: 1996

Genre: Board Book

Age: 1 – 3

This book is hilarious and a favorite in our house to this day.  The sweet animals and the completely clueless zookeeper are laugh-out-loud funny.  One of my oldest son’s first words was “armadillo” which says something about how amusing this book is.

This wordless picture book is perfect for making up new stories. It’s a creative exercise in storytelling that will delight over and over.

Find this book in: Zoo Books / Bedtime Stories for Kids / Best Books for 2-year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Animal Children’s Books

the snowman

Illustrator: Raymond Briggs

Year: 1978

Genre: Board Book

Age: 1 – 4

The pictures depict a tale of a little boy who goes to check on his snowman one night. When he sees his snowman outside in the cold, he decides to invite him in. What happens next is a magical adventure you and your child will adore.

If you are looking for kids’ winter books, this is a gorgeous wordless story. I loved to let my boys “read” this one to me.

Find this book in: Children’s Books about Winter / Best Christmas Books for Toddlers / Wordless Picture Books

Flora and the Flamingo

Author: Molly Idle

Illustrator: Molly Idle

Year: 2013

Genre: Picture Book

Age: 1 – 4

More info: Caldecott Honor winner

I love the fact that this book has no words because it allows you and your child to make up the story together. Flora and the Flamingo dance together.

Your child can not only flip the pictures and dance with Flora. When you are done, you can put on some music and dance with your little one.

This is one of my favorite interactive picture books. As wordless picture book, it also helps with language development.

Find this book in: Best Books for 2-Year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Baby Girl’s First Library / Interactive Books For Kids

Wordless Picture Books for Kids

Chalk

Author: Bill Thomson

Illustrator: Bill Thomson

Year: 2010

Genre: Wordless Picture Book

Age: 2 – 6

Three children discover a magical bag of chalk on a rainy day. As they begin to draw, magic happens and their creations come to life.

This wordless picture book will delight adults too. It’s the perfect playground book for a lovely day. Pack it in your activity bag, read it with your kids and let them draw their own chalk creations.

Find this book in: Playground Books / Best Books for 5-year-olds / Wordless Picture Books

Museum Trip and other wordless picture books

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman

Museums: filled with mysterious, magical art, and curiosities? Or secrets? And what might happen if a boy suddenly became part of one of the mind-bending exhibits?

flashlight

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd

Inside a tent it’s cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, artist Lizi Boyd has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art.

Wordless Picture Books for Older Children

Journey

Author: Aaron Becker

Illustrator: Aaron Becker

Year: 2013

Genre: Wordless Picture Book

Age: 3 – 6

More info: Caldecott Honor Winner, Journey Trilogy #1

When a little girl draws a door on her bedroom wall, she doesn’t expect to enter a magical land. Using her red marker, she creates a world filled with wonders and sets off on an adventure.

This story reminds me of a grown-kid version of Harold and the purple crayon. Instead of simplistic drawings, readers are treated to elaborate illustrations to be poured over for hours.

Find this book in: Imagination Books / Best Books for 4-year-olds / Wordless Picture Books

sector 7

Sector 7 by David Weisner

Only the person who gave us Tuesday could have devised this fantastic Caldecott Honor-winning tale, which begins with a school trip to the Empire State Building.

A boy makes friends with a mischievous little cloud, who whisks him away to the Cloud Dispatch Center for Sector 7 (the region that includes New York City). The clouds are bored with their everyday shapes, so the boy obligingly starts to sketch some new ones.

This is one of the wordless picture books that is appropriate for older kids as well because of the complexity of the plot. Wiesner makes of some of the best wordless picture books- I have loved all of his books.

unspoken

Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad

When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened.  But the stranger’s fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice.

Will she have the courage to help him? Unspoken gifts of humanity unite the girl and the runaway as they each face a journey: one following the North Star, the other following her heart. This is one of the wordless picture books I think is appropriate for older children because of the powerful story it tells. While this is a book with no words, the story is not diminished in any way!

I walk with vanessa

Author: Karascoët

Illustrator: Karascoët

Year: 2018

Genre: Wordless Picture Book

Age: 3 – 8

More info:

After a little girl watches her new classmate get bullied, she enacts a plan to welcome Vanessa and show her kindness. This wordless picture book allows children to explore bullying in their own voice and teaches kindness.

This wordless picture book brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it. My son’s second-grade teacher used this in her curriculum last year too. This is not only an amazing back-to-school book but it’s also a great book to teach about kindness.

Find this book in: Books about Feelings / Wordless Picture Books / Back to School Books / Best Books for 5-year-olds

Wordless Picture Books Featuring Animals

Frog goes to dinner

Frog Goes to Dinner by Mercer Meyer

A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog is the first book in this series and also helped to create the wordless picture book genre.

This hilarious story is laugh-out-loud funny. The boy wants to bring his frog out for dinner and when the frog hides in Boy’s pocket, chaos ensues. This book with no words will have you laughing out loud.

flotsam

Author: David Wiesner

Illustrator: David Wiesner

Year: 2006

Genre: Picture Books

Age: 3 – 7

More info: Caldecott Medal Winner

A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam–anything floating that has been washed ashore. When he discovers an old underwater camera and gets the pictures developed, he is shocked by what he finds.

David Wiesner is one of my favorite writers of wordless picture books ever.

Find this book in: Ocean Books for Kids / Best Books for 4-year-olds / Wordless Picture Books

Ball and other wordless picture books

Ball by Mary Sullivan

A dog with a ball is one of the most relentlessly hopeful creatures on Earth. After his best little-girl pal leaves for school, this dog hits up yoga mom, baby, and even the angry cat for a quick throw.

No luck. Forced to go solo, the dog begins a hilarious one-sided game of fetch until naptime’s wild, ball-centric dream sequence. The pictures speak a thousand words in this pick from wordless picture books.

the lion and the mouse

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

The Caldecott Award-winning and New York Times bestselling fable of compassion and kindness retold by acclaimed artist Jerry Pinkney.

In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney’s wordless adaptation of one of Aesop’s most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted.

The Only child and other wordless picture books

The Only Child by Guojing

A little girl—lost and alone—follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But… home and family are very far away. How will she get back there?

BTB Elements and icons 10

Reading wordless picture books is a perfect opportunity to help your child grow their language skills. Here are some ways to enrich your reading time

  • Take time to point to parts of the picture as you make up the story. Use lots of descriptions. You can also use words like first, next, then, or after.
  • Having trouble with descriptions? Think about the size, color, or shape of something and that is a perfect description. You don’t have to be fancy!
  • Ask questions! If your child is speaking they can answer verbally. If not, give them questions that allow them to point. For example: “Where is the dog?” or “This is blue, can you find something else on the page that is blue?”.
  • Once your child is familiar with the story, have them tell you the story. This is a great opportunity to mirror what they say and help them with their storytelling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are wordless picture books important?

Wordless picture books are important because they give the child a chance to use their imagination and invent a story using their own words.

How to use wordless picture books

You can use wordless books in a few different ways:
1. Read the story and ask the child to read it back
2. Show the pictures and have the child tell the story
3. Show the pictures and ask questions about what they see in the picture
4. Use them to play I spy

Epilogue

Am I missing your favorite wordless picture book? Let me know! How do you use wordless picture books?

We LOVE to support independent bookstores. You can shop our entire list of Wordless Picture Books on bookshop.org

Alphabet Books

Book Lists by Age

If you are looking for more amazing book lists, check out these lists sorted by age.

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