wordless | There's a Book for That

It’s report card writing time: words, words and more words. At the library today I was drawn to books that didn’t contain many (words) at all! These fabulous little finds are all about simplicity – wordless or sparse text. Pages full of ideal illustrations, questions posed and left unanswered and inferences begging to be made. 🙂 South by Patrick McDonnell.

A last fall leaf lands on a lone little bird, asleep. His friends have all left for warmer places. Despair. Mooch, the cat, accompanies him on his journey south through falling snow, falling tears and developing adoration until they happen upon the beautiful sound of birdsong.

Old friends found but reluctant goodbyes to new friends made. South by Patrick McDonnell is a lovely wordless story about being lost and found and having someone sweet enough to help you on your journey to where you need to go.

Aren’t we lucky to have children in our lives (like the little boy in this book in his star ship pyjamas and his important cardboard box) to remind us to appreciate the here and now? Kind of why it is great to be a parent and a teacher. My favourite line from Alison McGhee is the last line of the story: Little boy, you remind me how so much depends on days made of now. This book was inspired by the poem The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams (a poem that also plays a starring role in Love that Dog by Sharon Creech) Little Boy is illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.

I love books featuring birds, books that ask questions (and inspire more) and books by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka. This book was made for me!

Little Black Crow where do you go?begins the questioning . . . 27 questions make up this book about a little boy wondering about the little black crow he sees in the sky.

Haven’t you also wondered about those birds flying by? Hey! Birds! Are you never afraid? Do you wonder about the stars you see? Might you ever wonder about someone . . . like me?

Happy Reading!

I went to the library and what did I find? Some “new to me books”! Exactly why public libraries are such lovely places. You can walk in empty handed and walk out with a bag bursting full of undiscovered treasures. For free! At least that’s what happens to me.

Some books I found today that I have to share – first here and then this week, in the classroom! Excited at the possibilities . . . These will need to be more than book talks – all are simple and quick to read – but like a lovely sweet treat – something to savour for some time afterwards . . .

In Leaf by Stephen Michael King, a little boy escapes his Mom’s intentions to give his hair a trim. While hiding out with his his adorable little dog, a bird drops a seed on his head. A shoot pops up and grows a leaf. Now he needs to carefully tend to this living thing on top of his head. Simple, sweet, endearing. The best thing about this book? It is nearly wordless – the only text – sound effects – Whooosh, Boing, Sploosh, Glurg glurg . . .

Kathryn Otoshi has created a wonderful book called Zero all about finding value in yourself. I can see this book fitting in wonderfully with extension lessons with the Mindup curriculum where we explore looking at things from a different perspective. Is Zero empty inside? Or is she open and full of possibilities?

“This book is pretty funny,” announces my son. And it is but also a little bit more . . . Penguin by Polly Dunbar lets us look at a child’s frustration when he can’t communicate in the way he wants to with a new friend. And my, my, the things we tend to do as we get frustrated!

Happy Reading!