We all know that reading together is one of the most important things parents do for their kids…but are you getting bored of reading them the same stories night after night? Does your child have their favorite books memorized to the point where they notice if you skip a page when you read to them before bed? Next time, try going wordless!
Reading a wordless book sounds like a funny concept…why read a book with no words? There are lots of reasons! Wordless books decrease the temptation for parents to just read the words on the page, in favor of describing the pictures and actions, making up a story and letting their kids help! Ask your child what they see on each page, and what they think might happen next. Talk about it together. Wordless books help children develop storytelling and vocabulary skills while letting them hone their creativity. And you don’t have to just read a story either! Here are a few ideas for ways to use wordless books at home:
Silly sounds:
For little ones just learning words, make up a silly sound for each page. Is there a dinosaur chasing you? It might say ‘chomp chomp!’ Did someone make a mess? Maybe it went ‘crash’ or ‘boom!’ Get as silly as you can with it and encourage your child to get even sillier!
Visual Games:
Play games like ‘I Spy’ for younger kids or ‘Twenty Questions’ for older ones while picking an object on the page of one of these beautifully illustrated books.
Whole Body Reading:
Use your body to tell the story…are the animals running on the page? Run around the room! Did the dog jump over the fence? Practice your jumping skills!
Practice your speech goals!
Give each character a name that has your target sound in it. Working on your /s/ sound? Name your characters Sam and Sarah!
Of course, this wouldn’t be complete without showing off some of our favorite wordless books!
- Ball by Mary Sullivan is good for the littlest kiddos 3 and under, a silly book about a dog and his ball.
- Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley is good for all ages, a sweet story with beautiful photographs of a stuffed bear who finds and cares for a nest of bird’s eggs.
- Chalk by Bill Thomson is good for kids ages 2-10, a fun adventure book full of magic and emotions.
- Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day is good for kids ages 2-5 and great for including movement!
- Journey, Quest, and Return by Aaron Becker are a wordless book trio great for ages 5-10 full of a determined girl’s antics in her imagined world.
There are many more out there- search ‘wordless picture books’ and open up a whole new world of storytelling fun!
By Kate Gilliat, M.S., CC-SLP
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