The Line in the Sand by Thao Lam - ADVISABLE

The Line in the Sand by Thao Lam. WORDLESS PICTURE BOOK. Owl Kids Books, 2022. $20. 9781771475709

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

A monster draws a line in the sand.  What does it mean? As other monsters are playing on the beach they start to notice this strange line drawn in the sand.  

Lam has created an interesting book about the power of pictures, how we communicate as a society, and our interpretation of what happens.  This book would be a great addition to any library shelf. The monsters are very creative and illustrated in collage art.  It's a story everyone can relate to.   I love that it encourages the reader to think about communication, conflict, and the lines we all draw, whether intentional or not. 

Emilee-Teacher Librarian

Migrants by Issa Watanabe - HIGH

 Migrants by Issa Watanabe. PICTURE BOOK. Gecko Press, 2021. $19. 9781776573134 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS – ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Migrants are depicted as all different kinds of animals as they journey through harsh conditions to a safe land while Death follows respectfully behind them. 

Watanabe's wordless work may need some front loading for smaller children. The illustrations are colorful and exquisite; bright colors on a black background. This would be a thoughtful jumping off book to discuss migrants and issues they face without getting too graphic or in your face. It’s a gentle book that makes one think, and a great way to jump start discussions. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Pip & Pup by Eugene Yelchin - ADVISABLE

Pip & Pup by Eugene Yelchin, PICTURE BOOK Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2018. $17.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Pip is a newborn baby chick. While looking around the barnyard, it meets Pup and the two make friends. 

 This wordless picture book is well told through the colored pencil and oil pastels illustrations. The emotion on their faces is great - and the story isn't completely straight forward, letting the reader decide what's happening.

Lisa Librarian

I got it! By David Wiesner –NOT RECOMMENDED

Wiesner, David I Got It! PICTURE BOOK. Clarion (HMH), 2018. $18. 9780544309029

An nearly wordless book this story features kids at a baseball game. The main character is a boy in a red shirt, he goes to catch the baseball and misses. Then a series of alternative scenarios (?) began such as the same boy trying to catch a giant ball, the boy becoming miniature, and the boy hitting a tree branch. Features large harmonious illustrations.

Sometimes David Wiesner is one of my favorite author/illustrators and sometimes his work is just plain confusing and bizarre.  If you think of this as a moment in time, right before a catch, it sort of makes sense in a strange way but I think it will leave young readers incredibly confused without explanation. Despite my adoration of wordless books,  I wouldn’t add this my library.

EL(K-3) – NO.  Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian and Author

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell - ADVISABLE

Cordell, Matthew Wolf in the Snow, PICTURE BOOK MacMillan, 2017. $18. 9781250076366

A young child leaves school in a snowstorm and finds a lost wolf pup along the way home.  Following the sounds of the wolf pack, she heads towards them to return the pup but gets lost herself.

This was a sweet, practically wordless story.  The illustrations were adorable - especially the wolves, and did a great job of telling the story.  I’m alright with the fact that children shouldn’t try to return wolves to their parents.  All in all, this is a special book.

PRE-K ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

Draw the Line by Kathryn Otoshi - ADVISABLE

Otoshi, Kathryn  Draw the Line  PICTURE BOOK Roaring Brook Press, 2017.  $17.99 Content: G.  

In this wordless picture book, two boys are drawing a line and then they bump into each other.  They join their line together and start to play, but their play breaks into an argument that causes a rift between them.  One boy starts to color in the rift and make a pathway.  They work together and make a path and then run off into the sunset together.  

The illustrations use muted purples and yellows along with black creating different feelings with their simplicity.  This would be good to have discussions about friendship and working together.  I’m not sure if wordless books are a big hit, but I think this book is a good beginning for kids to talk about what it takes to have friendships.  

EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick -ADVISABLE

Fitzpatrick, Marie-Louise Owl Bat Bat Owl, PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick, 2016.  $16.

This wordless book features an owl family who find themselves sharing a sturdy tree branch with a family of bats (who hang upside down for the branch, naturally). One of the baby owls keeps trying to visit the bat family and make friends. Then a wind storm blows all the animals loose from their perch and the mama’s must collect their babies. Will the two families always be separate or can sharing a branch bring them together.

I am a big fan of wordless books for literacy, especially for school library activities. This one fits the bill, with its sweet story and its lovely conclusion. The illustrations are just adorable.

PRE-K, EL(K-3) –ADVISABLE.  Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author

Undercover: One of These Things is Almost Like the Others by Bastien Contraire - OPTIONAL

Contraire, Bastien.  Undercover: One of These Things is Almost Like the Others.  PICTURE BOOK.  Phaidon, 2016.  $18.95.  Content: G.

A new spin on a look and find book.  There are two-page spreads full of items where one item is ALMOST like the others, but not quite.  Among the leaves, if you look closely, you’ll see a butterfly.  Among the poultry, you’ll find a teapot.  The book is wordless.  Just like the cover, the interior illustrations are created using just three colors: pink, green, and brown.  The images are mostly simplified, but that works perfectly with the concept of finding a similar sized and colored item that is ALMOST like the others. 

Pre-K, EL-OPTIONAL.  Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.  

Game for Adventure: Andrew the Seeker by Lee Nordling –ADVISABLE

Nordling, Lee  Game for Adventure: Andrew the Seeker 32 pgs. Graphic Universe (Lerner), 2017. $7.00  Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G GRAPHIC NOVEL

This wordless graphic novel tells the story of a little boy who thinks he keeps seeing a monster, but when he turns around it is gone. Eventually he follows it into the woods, where it keeps eluding him, though the reader can see how very close it is. Fed up, the boy goes home, prepared to give up. Then the monster gives him an big clue and an invite.

I always like wordless books. I often use them as an activity for across many grades. I like that this one has a very simple plotline with emotions younger students would have an easier time relating to. The illustrations are very bright and basic. Although the plot line is appropriate for Pre-K, they may have trouble following the graphic novel format on their own.

EL –ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole - ESSENTIAL

Cole, Henry Spot, the Cat, PICTUREBOOK. Simon and Schuster, 2016. $17.99. Content: G.  

Spot the Cat spends the day walking around the big city after he gets out of the window. The reader, like the cat’s owner, is tasked with finding him amid all of the things that are going on in the busy city.  

Each black and white pen and ink  illustration is perfectly crafted to make finding the small cat a challenge even for the grown-ups.  But there’s so many other things to see in the pictures, you don’t really mind looking around for the cat.  This wordless story is delightful, and children will spend a good deal of time looking at the illustrations.  It’s not as difficult as where’s Waldo, and once the cat is spotted, you wonder why you didn’t see it right away.  

Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL  Lisa Librarian

Float by Daniel Miyares - OPTIONAL

Miyares, Daniel Float.  WORDLESS PICTURE BOOK.  Simon and Schuster, 2015.  $18.  Content: G.

A little boy makes a newspaper boat that he takes out puddle sailing during a rainstorm.  After it sails down a storm drain and falls apart, the boy is sad, until he finds something else he can also make out of newspaper.

Full of nostalgia, this will stir the feelings of adults who built newspaper boats and paper airplanes by the dozens.  It does include patterns for both vehicles.

EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Monster Book by Alice Hoostad - OPTIONAL

Hoogstad, Alice  Monster Book  Lemniscaat, 2014.  $17.95  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G.  

In a colorless town, one little girl goes about drawing monsters with her colorful crayons.  After she finishes drawing the monsters and moves on to her next drawing, the monsters come alive and follow her.  The monsters help her add color to the town and eventually other children bring their crayons out and start to color as well.   

The illustrations in this book are cute and the colorful monsters are adorable.  There are no words, but the story is easy to understand.  When we got to the end my kids said, "There were no words that was boring", but maybe they just don’t have a big enough imagination to appreciate this story. If you are looking for more wordless books for your library this is a fun addition.    

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Quest by Aaron Becker - ADVISABLE

Becker, Aaron  Quest.  PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2014.   $15.99. Content: G.  

The new friends from Journey are sent off on a new quest when they encounter a king who pleads for their help to save his kingdom.  More than one kingdom is involved, however, and the pair embark on a heroic journey - all conveyed without words.  The drawings are fantastical and engaging.  While the story doesn’t hang together quite as well as the first, the journey is quite wonderful.  

EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE.

Cindy - Library Teacher 

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd - OPTIONAL

Boyd, Lizi Flashlight.  PICTURE BOOK.  Chronicle, 2014.  $17.  A young boy is sleeping in his tent and decides to walk through the woods at night, shining his flashlight on surprises around the forest.  

This wordless picture book has a lot of detail, a little bit of color, and little peephole cut-outs on many of the pages.  It would be fun to look at together and point out where things are or ask a young friend to find things on the page.  Wordless picture books are also useful as ways for kids to learn to follow a story without having everything pointed out to them by the words.

Pre-K - OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Journey by Aaron Becker - ADVISABLE

Becker, Aaron Journey.  WORDLESS PICTURE BOOK.  Candlewick, 2013.  $16.  Content: G. 

A lonely girl uses her red marker to draw the landscapes of her rich imagination.  When she gets into danger and loses her marker, a purple bird leads her to a new friend.  This is not reminiscent at all of Harold and his crayon.  The lush landscapes and fanciful buildings are great eye candy and the story tells itself through the pictures.  

EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher