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.
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.
The Best Wordless Picture Book for Younger Kids
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman- Click here to read about the book and see more books in this section
The Best Wordless Picture Books for Kids
Chalk by Bill Thompson- Click here to read about the book and see more books in this section
The Best Wordless Picture Books for Older Kids
Journey by Aaron Becker – Click here to read about the book and see more books in this section
Best Picture Books About Animals
Frog Goes to Dinner by Mercer Meyer- Click here to read about the book and see more books in this section
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
Wordless Picture Books for Younger Kids
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
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.
Why We Love This Book: This wordless picture book is perfect for making up new stories. It’s a creative exercise in storytelling that will delight over and over.
Appropriate for ages 1-3
Find this book in Zoo Books / Bedtime Stories for Kids / Best Books for 1-year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Animal Children’s Books
Plot
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.
Why Kirsten loves it
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 by Molly Idle
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 our favorite interactive picture books.
Why We Love This Book: Wordless picture Books help with language development, Caldecott Honor-Winning book, wonderfully interactive
Appropriate for ages 1-4
Find this book in Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Baby Girl’s First Library / Interactive Books For Kids
Wordless Picture Books for Kids
Chalk by Bill Thompson
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 for a 5-year-old will delight adults too. It’s the perfect playground book for a lovely day.
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 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 by Aaron Becker (A Wordless Trilogy)
A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book
Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.
A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free.
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: 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 by Karascoët
This is a powerful wordless picture book that tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying.
It is inspired by real events and explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly. It shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. This is another one of the wordless picture books that has a powerful message and it is perfect for older children.
Wordless Picture Books Featuring Animals
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 by David Wiesner
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.
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 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 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?
Helpful Tips
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
Related Content
Epilogue
Am I missing your favorite wordless picture book? Let me know! How do you use wordless picture books?
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