Stories Without Words

This list highlights the creative work of illustrators and artists who tell stories without words. To view more titles you can do a subject search in InfoSoup for Stories Without Words.

Contributed by staff of the Waupaca Area Public Library, 11/2008 

• The Adventures of Polo by Regis Faller (2006)
Polo the dog sets out from his home and enjoys many adventures, including sailing his boat on top of a whale, roasting hot dogs over a volcano, and taking a ride in a spaceship built from a mushroom.
• Alphabet House by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (2005)
Nancy Elizabeth Wallace has done it again with her adorable three dimensional artwork created with cut paper, scissors, and a glue stick. She invites children to enter an alphabet house and join a family of bunnies as they look for familiar objects starting with the letters A to Z. If they miss anything, an easy to follow answer key is provided at the back. An almost wordless text makes Alphabet House a great introduction to visual literacy, and the paper quilts on the endpapers add another colorful way to look at the alphabet.
• The Arrival by Shaun Tan (2006)
In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family.
• Ben’s Dream by Chris Van Allsburg (1982)
On a terrifically rainy day, Ben has a dream in which he and his house float by the monuments of the world, half submerged in flood water.
• Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug by Mark Newgarden (2007)
A wordless picture book about a persistent terrier who spends a day following a bug through his neighborhood
• The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard by Gregory Rogers (2004)
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! A comic romp through Shakespeare's London featuring an intrepid little boy, a friendly bear, and-in the role of dastardly villain-the Bard himself.
• Carl's afternoon in the park by Alexandra Day (1991)
Carl the rottweiler, in charge of a baby and a puppy, takes advantage of Mom's absence to lead them on a wild romp through the park.
• The Christmas Gift by Emily Arnold McCully (1988)
When a little mouse's treasured Christmas gift is broken, Grandpa consoles her with a toy train from his own childhood.
• Do Not Disturb by Nancy Tafuri (1987)
The movements and actions of a family camping in the woods cause the forest creatures to also move, scurry, and make noise.
• Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle (1971)
"Do you want to be my friend?" asks a little mouse of a horse, a peacock, an alligator, and others, as it searches everywhere for a friend.
• Floatsam by David Wiesner (2006)
The story of what happens when a camera becomes a piece of flotsam.
• Follow Carl! by Alexandra Day (1998)
Carl is back in his ninth adventure! Children barking at a squirrel in a tree? Carrying sticks in their mouths? Begging for food? Who could be responsible for such silly shenanigans except everybody's favorite baby-sitter, Carl, who takes a group of neighborhood children on a lively game of Follow the LeaderSydetic Solutions
• Good Night, Garden Gnome by Jamichael Henterly (2001)
Depicts a gnome at work and play in his garden.
• Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (1994)
An unobservant zookeeper is followed home by all the animals he thinks he has left behind in the zoo.
• Hogwash by Arthur Geisert (2008)
Illustrations without words depict the enormous and complicated contraption that Mama Pig uses to get her little piglets clean.
• Home by Jeannie Baker (2004)
A wordless picture book that observes the changes in a neighborhood from before a girl is born until she is an adult, as it first decays and then is renewed by the efforts of the residents.
• Hot on the Scent by Bente Bech (1992)
Following an enticing smell, a mouse braves many dangers to reach his destination.
• Jack and the Night Visitors by Pat Schories (2006)
A spaceship lands on Jack's roof one night and a host of tiny robotlike visitors climb into the window and make themselves at home.
• Junglewalk by Nancy Tafuri (1988)
A little boy falls asleep after reading a book about animals in a jungle, and then he meets them all in his dream.
• Lights Out by Arthur Geisert (2005)
Told by his parents that his light must be out at eight o'clock, a young piglet who is afraid of the dark devises an ingenious solution to the problem.
• Mister O by Lewis Trondheim (2004)
Goofy silent one-page gags crammed with little frames showing Mister O, a round doodle of a man desperately trying to get across that darn chasm and never quite making it. This will keep you in stiches for pages
• Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman (2006)
In this wordless picture book, a boy imagines himself inside some of the exhibits when he goes on a field trip to a museum.
• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (1984)
Presents a series of loosely related drawings each accompanied by a title and a caption which the reader may use to make up his or her own story.
• New Baby by Emily Arnold McCully (1988)
The youngest mouse in a large family discovers excitement and frustration when a new baby arrives.
• Owly by Andy Runton (2005)
A series "about the adventures of a gentle owl named Owly who resolves to do good and make friends in his world with the help of his good companions, the clever worm, Wormy, and Scampy, the gluttonous but good hearted chipmunk."Wikipedia
• Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie De Paola (1978)
A little old lady's attempts to have pancakes for breakfast are hindered by a scarcity of supplies and the participation of her pets.
• Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman (2007)
In this wordless picture book, a boy finds a mysterious key which leads him on an adventure one rainy day.
• The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (2004)
A book about a book, a magical red book, without any words, and the friendship that develops around it.
• re-zoom by Istvan Banyai (1995)
A wordless picture book presents a series of scenes, each one from farther away, showing, for example, a boat which becomes the image on a magazine, which is held in a hand, which belongs to a boy, and so on.
• Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (2007)
The enduring friendship between a dog and a robot is portrayed in this wordless graphic novel.
• Sector 7 by David Wiesner (1999)
While on a school trip to the Empire State Building, a boy is taken by a friendly cloud to visit Sector 7, where he discovers how clouds are shaped and channeled throughout the country.
• Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischman (2004)
A young girl watches as the activities across the street from her bus stop become a circus.
• Silent Night by Sandy Turner (2001)
Santa tries to deliver presents on Christmas Eve, but he is hindered by a very vocal dog who will not stop barking, woofing, and yapping.
• South by Patrcik McDonnell (2008)
Mooch the cat helps a lonely bird find its flock, which has flown south for the winter.
• The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (1978)
When his snowman comes to life, a little boy invites him home and in return is taken on a flight high above the countryside.
• Time Flies by Eric Rohmann (1994)
A wordless tale in which a bird flying around the dinosaur exhibit in a museum has an unsettling experience when it finds itself back in the time of living dinosaurs.
• Tuba Lessons by T.C. Bartlett (1997)
While walking through the woods on his way to his tuba lesson, a boy becomes sidetracked by all the animals that want to hear him play.
• Tuesday by David Wiesner (1991)
Frogs rise on their lily pads, float through the air, and explore the nearby houses while their inhabitants sleep.
• Un-Brella by Scott E. Franson (2007)
In this wordless book, a little girl uses her magic umbrella to give her the weather she wants, regardless of what the conditions really are outside.
• Wave by Suzy Lee (2008)
A wordless picture book that shows a little girl's first experiences at the beach, as she goes from being afraid of the roaring waves to playing on the shore while gulls soar overhead
• Why? by Nikolai Popov (1996)
A frog, peacefully sitting in a meadow, is suddenly attacked by an umbrella-wielding mouse in a confrontation that quickly turns into full-scale war.
• You Can’t Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman (1998)
In this wordless story, a young girl and her grandmother view works inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the balloon she has been forced to leave outside floats around New York City causing a series of mishaps that mirror scenes in the museum's artworks.
• Zoom by Istvan Banyai, (1998)
A wordless picture book presents a series of scenes, each one from farther away, showing, for example, a girl playing with toys which is actually a picture on a magazine cover, which is part of a sign on a bus, and so on.