Wordless Picture Books

Looking for recent books for children that tell stories without words? Below is a list of a few recent books that you may find in your local library. Additional titles may be found by conducting a subject search in the online catalog using “stories without words” as a subject heading.

Selected Web sites:

Web sites that either include lists of wordless picture books, or that suggest ways to use such books to stimulate creativity are listed directly below:

Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books

Lesson Plan: Picture This!

Wordless Picture Books (Louisville Free Public Library)

Wordless Picture Books (UIUC Library)
Recently Published Wordless Picture Books:

Author: Schories, Pat.
Title: Jack and the night visitors, 2006.
Summary: Jack and the boy receive a late-night visit from unique guests who love to play.
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: SE. Sch66j

Author: Aruego, Jose.
Title: The last laugh, 2006.
Summary: A wordless tale in which a clever duck outwits a bullying snake.
Location: Center for Childrens Books [non-circulating]
Call Number: Q. SE. Ar83l

Author: Cosentino, Ralph.
Title: The marvelous misadventures of Fun-Boy, 2006.
Summary: In twelve short stories without words, Fun-Boy looks for adventure, but it is misadventure that he finds.
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: Q. SE. C821f

Author: Himler, Ronald.
Title: Dancing boy, 2005.
Summary: In this wordless story the world of adults stands still, as a wee naked boy dances through town like a mini-Pied Piper enticing other children to cast off their woes and their clothes.
Location: Center for Childrens Books [non-circulating]
Call Number: Q. SE. H574d

Author: Banyai, Istvan.
Title: The other side, 2005.
Summary: A wordless picture book that shows a series of familiar scenes through many twists in point of view, such as a boy looking down out of a jet’s window and another boy the ground looking up at the same jet.
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: S. B228o

Author: Rogers, Gregory.
Title: The boy, the bear, the baron, the bard, 2004.
Summary: A boy playing among the warehouses of London kicks a soccer ball into an abandoned theater. There he finds an enchanted cape that transports him back in time right onto the stage of one of William Shakespeare’s plays!
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: Q. SE. R631b

Author: Lehman, Barbara.
Title: The red book, 2004.
Summary: A book about a book, a magical red book, without any words, and the friendship that develops around it.
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: SE. L528r

Author: Fleischman, Paul.
Title: Sidewalk circus, 2004.
Summary: A young girl watches as the activities across the street from her bus stop become a circus.
Location: Center for Childrens Books [non-circulating]
Call Number: SE. F628s

Author: Louchard, Antonin.
Title: Little Star, 2003.
Summary: A small starfish dreams of leaving the ocean and becoming one of the stars in the sky.
Location: Education S Collection
Call Number: SE. L925l

Authors who have created multiple wordless picture books include:

Anderson, Lena
Anno, Mitsumasa
Day, Alexandra
DePaola, Tomie
Goodall, John S.
Hoban, Tana
Krahn, Fernando
Lionni, Leo
Mayer, Mercer
Oxenbury, Helen
Spier, Peter
Tafuri, Nancy