Showing posts with label Wordless Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wordless Book. Show all posts

Review: FOSSIL by Bill Thomson

 

FOSSIL by Bill Thomson is a marvel.  A wordless book that features his imaginative and amazing photo-realistic style.


The wordless story is about a boy who is out walking with his dog. When the boy trips he unexpectedly breaks a rock and finds a wonderful fossil inside.  Even more miraculously, he finds three more fossils.  And as he and his dog watch, they come to life!

The fern and the dragonfly aren't much of a problem... BUT the pterodactyl... yikes!


Light hearted, fun and wordless, FOSSILS would be a great book to share with a wide range of dinosaur lovers. 



Pam~
by Bill Thomson
4.00 STARS from 80 GoodReaders

Reading Information:
Wordless!
Page Count: 32
--sample pages and reviews available

BOOK DU JOUR - A Ball for Daisy

A BALL FOR DAISY is an award winning wordless book from Chris Raschka. 

NYTimes 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011
**2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner**
**Starred Review** School Library Journal
**Starred Review** Horn Book
**Starred Review** Kirkus

bookcover of A Ball for Daisy 

excerpt #1 from A BALL FOR DAISY by Chris Raschka

excerpt #2 from A BALL FOR DAISY by Chris Raschka


A BALL FOR DAISY
by Chris Raschka
32 pages

by Pam

4 Fabulous Wordless Books for Young Adults

We've seen some great classroom projects done with wordless books. Teachers have integrated them into art and writing projects.

We, however, just read and enjoy them.



The Arrival
by Shaun Tan

GoodReads::: 4.48 average rating — 3,375 votes

**STARRED REVIEW** School Library Journal
**STARRED REVIEW** Book List

In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life- he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.

Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.

  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
  • ISBN-10: 0439895294
  • Look Inside
    amazon


Topics to discuss:

* Change and New Experiences
* Family
* Immigrating
* Prejudice/Tolerance
* The Will to Survive
* Wars and Conflicts

*What images did you find most striking
*What images evoked strong feelings



The Middle Passage: White Ships/ Black Cargo

by Tom Feelings
John Henrik Clarke (Introduction)

GoodReads::: 4.42 average rating — 45 votes

The Middle Passage is the name given to one of the most tragic ordeals in history: the cruel and terrifying journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean. In this seminal work, master artist Tom Feelings tells the complete story of this horrific diaspora in sixty-four extraordinary narrative paintings. Achingly real, they draw us into the lives of the millions of African men, women, and children who were savagely torn from their beautiful homelands, crowded into disease-ridden "death ships," and transported under nightmarish conditions to the so-called New World. An introduction by noted historian Dr. John Henrik Clarke traces the roots of the Atlantic slave trade and gives a vivid summary of its four centuries of brutality. The Middle Passage reaches us on a visceral level. No one can experience it and remain unmoved. But while we absorb the horror of these images, we also can find some hope in them. They are a tribute to the survival of the human spirit, and the humanity won by the survivors of the Middle Passage belongs to us all




Topics to discuss:

* History
* Prejudice
* The Will to Survive

*What images did you find most striking
*What images evoked strong feelings




Blood Song: A Silent Ballad
by Eric Drooker

GoodReads::: 4.04 average rating — 157 votes

**STARRED REVIEW** Publishers Weekly

Once upon a time a young girl went down to the river to fetch some water. What she found when she returned home, and what she did to survive, no ordinary tongue can tell. In a realm beyond words, Blood Song is a moving pictorial journey through an island forest to another island on the far side of the ocean, where the secrets of the girl's past and the secrets of an unknown future await




Flood! A Novel In Pictures
by Eric Drooker

GoodReads::: 4.17 average rating — 144 votes

**Winner of the American Book Award**
**New York Times notable book of the year**

An American Book Award winner and an Editor's Choice of the New York Times, Flood! is the powerful first graphic novel by Eric Drooker, frequent cover artist for the New Yorker. Flood! is a modern novel written in the ancient language of pictures, with an expressionist, film noir edge.



Wordless Shakespeare for Kids!

We found 2 Wordless books that were Shakespearean in nature. Both earned *Starred Reviews* from the School Library Journal.

We recommend them because we feel it's never too early to suggest to kids that the classics are fun ;)


The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard
by Gregory Rogers

When a soccer ball goes awry, a boy ends up in the Globe Theater. The bard himself chases the boy who frees both a bear and a Baron before meeting Queen Elizabeth.


Accolades:
*Starred Reviews* from School Library Journal
Widely popular at Amazon and GoodReads
Don's review here.

Reading Level: WL
Interest Level: 4 to 8ish
Look Inside at Amazon




Midsummer Knight
by Gregory Rogers

The Bear from The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard shows up in this book, this time finding himself in the magical forest inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

He's rescued by Puck (the boy from the previous adventure, who's now wearing wings) and soon the pair are thrust into court intrigue.

Accolades:
*Starred Review* from School Library Journal
Widely popular at Amazon and GoodReads


Reading Level: WL
Interest Level: P to 8ish
Look Inside at Amazon


Though whimsical, these books serve to introduce children to the themes and world of Shakespeare.

SOUTH by Patrick McDonnell

bookcover of SOUTH by Patrick McDonnell

I've just recently started putting excerpts from books in my reviews to give you the flavor of them. But I can't do that with South because it's wordless.

However, to offset that lapse I've got extra page shots to offer, because I really don't think you can discern just how sweet and cute this book is from the cover alone. Thanks Alice Morley for the jpegs. You rock.

South is a story about a little bird who manages to miss out on migrating with the gang. He's resting under a tree when everyone else flies off, and when he wakes he finds himself not only left behind, but with no notion of how to go "south". The fun comes when a hero arrives. And of all creatures it might be, it's a cat who comes to his rescue!

excerpt #1 from SOUTH by Patrick McDonnell


South is a sweet book that makes what I call a wonderful snuggle-read. Which is to say that it's the sort of book that goes well with a warm chocolate chip cookie and a lap.

And I adore the message of this story. It's one that can tie in to a religious or ethical lesson of how we should befriend and aid others.

The artwork is in warm colors and the illustrations look marvelous on the soft brown-tone paper. The expressive artwork conveys the emotions well.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

excerpt #2 from SOUTH by Patrick McDonnell


SOUTH
by Patrick McDonnell

Reading Information:
It's Wordless!
Page Count:  48


Related posts on Wordless Books:::


bookcover of ME... JANE by Patrick McDonnell
See our **Starred Review** of McDonnell's new book, "Me... Jane".

The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard by Gregory Rogers


*Starred* Review from Don, SLJ

There is normally no consistency in what I read, whether it be genre, age targeted, new, old, bad, good... I just read.

As such I have recently run across a number of wordless books; some for the younger set such as the one being reviewed here, and some for the older crowd.

One of the nice things about these wordless reads is that they are just as enjoyable for old geezers like myself as they are for the wee ones. This is certainly the case with The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard.


In this book, a little boy is kicking a soccer ball around the street in present day London. As often happens with little boys and sports balls of all makes, the ball ends up crashing through a window-- in this case the window of a very old theater. Needless to say our young delinquent athlete removes some boards from the windows and goes in search of his lost ball.

He ends up going into an old closet where he discovers costumes from an earlier age. He tries some on, finds the ball and then kicks it through a pair of curtains. Again, he gives chase.

BLAM! Our little guy finds himself on an open air stage in Elizabethan London in the middle of a play being directed by the Immortal Bard himself! [We see at this point that there is another side to Shakespeare...he has a temper! Thus the chase is on!]

The boy is pursued through the streets of Elizabethan London by the angry playwright. And along the way he picks up a bear he finds locked in a cage and the two proceed across London Bridge (the heads stuck on pikes are an added touch) and on to the Tower of London where they happen upon an unfortunate Baron awaiting the headman's block.

The boy and the bear help him escape. But as chance would have it when they jump on a barge on the River Thames it happens to be the Queen's own. The boy, the Baron and the bear are introduced to Elizabeth I, and she is smitten by the young Baron. They have a wonderful party. Suddenly Bill S. shows up again and the chase continues.

I won't go on as I do not want to spoil the story by giving away the ending. But I will say that the entire book is hilarious and does end happily and well.

Talking Points:::
The art work here, in particular the facial expressions of the main characters and the people met in the streets, are absolutely a delight. Each drawing --some as large as a full page; others quite small-- are executed perfectly, and absolutely no words are needed to tell this amusing tale.

I like this one as even small children will be able to figure out the story line with little or no problem. And at the same time it's entertaining for the older reader. too It allows both little and big imaginations to soar.

This is a fun book that is heavily used at the school and public library in our area. Kids seem to be fascinated with it ,and I have seen many older persons smirk and grin while going through it.

An while it may not be historically accurate, it is a wonderful way to introduce the small child to the works of Shakespeare and give a very nice history lesson at the same time, rather twisted and tweaked though it may be.

Now reader take note. There are aspects of this work that are pretty sophisticated and it might be wise to read this one with your child through the first time and give little words of explanation as to the context of the story.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Related posts on Wordless Books:::

The Lion & the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney


I just read... no, make that viewed Jerry Pinkney's new book with my kids, and it is most wonderful. Wordless -- or nearly so, there are a few words like 'putt' and 'squeak'-- it retells the classic story of the "Lion and the Mouse" using fabulously detailed artwork done in watercolors and colored pencil.

The book itself is large and title-less. On the front is the beautiful golden lion, while on the back is the adorable (and heroic) little mouse. The author follows the traditional story very closely, only adding one additional detail for both of these creatures of the savanna. He gives them families. The mouse is a mama of a passel of little squeaks, and the lion is a daddy.



Talking Points :::
This is a gorgeous book. The light yellow tinted pages perfectly compliment the large, detailed drawings which are done in browns and golden hues. Exquisitely drawn, the images lie on the spectrum somewhere between realism and impressionism. The lion's eyes are so expressive. We all laughed at the face he made when holding the little mouse.


Without words, the book allows adults and children to choose their own vocabulary. The ultimate read aloud.

One thing you might consider is that artwork is so detailed that babies and even some toddlers might not like it. Which is to say that it's the opposite of the bright, simple art that you see in books dedicated to these youngsters. The pages essentially being 'too busy' for little eyes.

Jerry Pinkney's "Lion and the Mouse" would make a wonderful gift for preschoolers on up to Tweeners.


Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs



The Lion & the Mouse

Accelerated Reading level
: not needed. It's wordless
  • Hardcover: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2009)
  • ISBN-10: 0316013560
  • See-a-Sample

"Lion and the Mouse" Practice Readers:::
Gail Herman, Bernadette Watts, Mark White

Related posts on Wordless Books:::

The Baby Sitter by Frank Endersby


I love wordless books, especially for little ones. Studies have shown that sharing these books helps pre-readers to grasp the concept that words tell stories, and that they can look to pictures for clues as to what words say.

In addition, I have also found that talking about the pictures and making up our own stories opens up a wonderful window into what is going on in a child's head. How exactly it is, that they see the world.

In this little boardbook, which is 10 pages long, the wordless story is about the babysitter coming. It begins with a little boy and the sitter waving goodbye to mommy and daddy. It then goes on to depict the two playing together, having a snack and then getting ready for bed. The colors are soft and the images are all soothing, and this is simply a great book to use to ease very young children into accepting and understanding what it means to have a baby sitter. I think parents could sit down with children and 'practice' the concept of parents being away, and that the babysitters themselves could use it during the night to reassure young ones.

Wrap-Up:::

This short, wordless book would be excellent, I think, to read with a child before any sitter arrives. The images are all positive and could be used to explain what is about to happen. (So positive my kids wanted me to hire a sitter. I had to explain though that in our area there aren't any anymore. *sigh*)

Pam :D
Somewhere in the X-burbs



The Baby Sitter
Related posts on Wordless Books:::

Good Egg by Barney Saltberg


Barney Saltzberg's Good Egg is a delightful little book that's bound to tickle the funny bones of quite a few folks -- old and young. The premise is that the reader is training an egg. Or as my children call him/her... "Egg". And the effectiveness of this training is demonstrated by a series of flaps and pull tabs that will have you and your little one teaching Egg to sit and roll-over, lie down ...and speak.

SPEAK!
Yes, it's true! At the end of the book, you'll find yourself asking Egg to "speak". And Egg does just that... when it hatches and a charming yellow chick pops out and flaps it's wings for you.

Considerations:::
Good Egg is really cute boardbook, and though my almost 7 and 9 year-olds adored it, it probably ought to be purchased for the toddler and preschool set.

The following video demonstrates what Egg can do, and my kids thought that the vid was hysterically amusing, so you might want to bookmark it as well.




As far as content::: I really like the large and simple text which author has chosen. The simple words will be easy for even very young children to memorize and it won't be long before they are reading the book on their own, gaining for themselves the pride of doing-it-themselves. I also like that the hatching egg gives adults a chance to discuss birds and how the mommas sit on the eggs (or the fathers keep them off the snow and on their toes... ) to keep them warm so that they can flourish and eventually hatch.

ABC3D by Marion Bataille

This nice alphabet pop-up book is new on the market! The cover is one of those cool optical plates (sort of holographic), where what you see changes depending on your angle of approach.

I think kids-of-all-ages like this sort of thing. Just as we like books where objects pop-up and/or move. To test this out, I not only read ABC3D with my own two children -- currently 6 and 8 years old -- but I loaned it to my son's kindergarten teacher from last year, so that we could get her classroom's opinion. The feedback was immediate and positive. Both the teacher and her assistant, and their room full of kids LOVED the book. I saw Mrs. P~ that very afternoon and she said that ABC3D was such a hit that they made special time that day to read it again in the afternoon.

One of the reasons for the books popularity is that the pop-ups are clever. While generally speaking each letter sits between it's own two pages, there are some clever variations that keep kids guessing. "C" becomes "D" , for example, when the C flops over and a previously hidden vertical bar becomes the upright part of the "D". Similarly, pulling the page taunt, turns E into an F. And O and P have a special transparency page with two slanty-bars that remake them into Q and R. But if you have time, look at the video below and see for yourself.




Considerations :::
ABC3D would make a fine gift for a child as it's an entertaining book that also educates. I know the children I've been around are fascinated by books with moving parts, and this should keep them focused on their letters.

As with all pop-up books, I would suggest that young children use them with adult supervision. Toddlers, Preschoolers and even some Kindergarteners can be especially tough on pop-ups.


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