Wordless Books it Is Easy

Wordless Books

It is easy to forget, with the importance placed on words and language, that nonverbal communication can be just as essential, if not more, for understanding. One of the skills that children need to learn is sequencing, or placing events in order of their happening. This is normally done through looking at illustrations or photographs and putting them in logical first-to-last sequence. Other activities include circling those things that are incorrect on a drawing, such as five wheels on an automobile, or comparing two illustrations and finding out what things are different between them. All of these assignments make children more observant and begin to understand different concepts such as time. A wordless book, such as a Boy, a Dog, a Frog and a Friend, can be a very useful tool for learning language skills, creativity and imagination.

As children get older, they begin to learn how facial expressions tell a story, such as their dad is angry, their teacher is pleased, or a friend is sad. However, by this time, so much emphasis has been placed on the verbal/written word vs. nonverbal communication, that they have difficulty "reading" a situation by looking just at body language or listening to tone of voice. Many disagreements due to lack of communication occur because of misreading someone's nonverbal clues.

Relying solely or mostly on words instead of illustrations or other visuals also cuts down on creativity. Words "define" specific terms; they place boundaries around the person, place or thing they are describing. When a person hears the word "tree," there may be different permutations, but not too far from reality. For example, if someone hears the word "tree" and then draws a house (because he/she is thinking "tree house"), it is too remote from the true definition of the word. However, when someone is shown a square and asked to make something out of it or create a story about it, creativity really comes into play. That square can be anything from a book to part of a rocket to Mars.

There are not many children's books that are published without words. This is in part due to the emphasis on learning how to read and write in the first couple years of school. This is unfortunate, since wordless books are excellent tools for helping children develop the basics of language while introducing them to underlying story structures and stretching their imaginations.

The book a boy, a dog, a frog and a friend by Mercer Mayer is an excellent example. This short but powerful book says it all in illustrations with the characters' actions, body language and expressions. There is just enough structure to the story, so that children do not get frustrated by having too much latitude in plot, but just enough flexibility that allows them to be somewhat creative in their descriptions of the illustrations. They can answer questions, such as "How does he feel?" (emotions) or "Why do you think he did that?" (reasons for actions) or, "What would you do if this were you?" (personal comparison), or for older children, "How does the relationship between the characters change from the first part of the book to the last?" or, "What would you have done if you were the little boy fishing?" (imagining future actions).