Submitted by Ms. Tess!
A scruffy dog goes on a big adventure in The Umbrella by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert! On a windy day a dog finds a bright red umbrella. Soon he is scooped up by the breeze, and taken away from his home. After sailing through a cloudy sky, he’s spotted over the Serengeti. He must fend off hungry crocodiles before being blown on his way by some helpful elephants. He weathers a stormy sea, meeting fish and a friendly whale along the way. On his trip around the world he visits the Galapagos Islands, and the Amazonian rain forest. He even travels north, playing in the snow with Arctic hares and polar bears. There’s a night time flight with a colony of bats and finally our hero is returned home. Good luck to that cat who’s eye-ing the umbrella next… This wordless book is filled with large, beautiful, detailed pictures. If the child you care for loves dogs, adventure, and making up their own stories, The Umbrella is a win win win. I personally like it because I think the dog in the book looks a lot like my friend and fellow Kid’s Book Blogger Ms. Jill’s dog Oscar, who I suspect secretly takes trips around the world via umbrella on a regular basis. I mean, just look at this picture of him and you’ll see what I mean. See this book listed in our catalog
Wordless
Animals Home Alone
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
Animals Home Alone, by Loes Riphagen, explores the potential private life of the animals we leave at home when we go out. Not just the goldfish, or the house cat, but animals in pictures on walls, or in story books, stuffed animals… even the bugs hidden in the house get in on the action! In the front of the book, Riphagen gives names to all the animals you’re about to meet (real names, like Bert, and Katherine). Over the next 24 pages, the animals go wild! They watch TV, eat snacks, try on clothes, even fall in love and have babies, all while the little girl of the house and her daddy are out. At the end of the book Riphagen quizzes you on what you just saw: What was Bibi looking for? Why does Piggy have a stomachache? And more! This wordless picture book is a hoot to flip through over and over again, to make sure you haven’t missed out on any of the animals’ fun! See this book listed in our catalog
Where’s Walrus?
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
Check out Where’s Walrus by Stephen Savage for a fun, wordless story, with nostalgic illustrations, reminiscent of retro ad campaigns! It’s about a walrus who is bored of the zoo, so he decides to have a day out on the town, much to the zookeeper’s dismay! The zookeeper runs around a cityscape wondering where the walrus is. The zookeeper can’t seem to track Walrus down, but I bet your child can! Walrus is hidden in each illustration (in some a bit more successfully than others, with humorous results). Finally the zookeeper tracks down his walrus at a swimming pool, which leads him to an idea that might make Walrus’s days less boring in the future… Solve the mystery of Where’s Walrus today! You won’t be disappointed! See this book listed in our catalog
Owly & Wormy: Friends All Aflutter!
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
I was very excited (perhaps a little too excited) to discover that Andy Runton, creator of one of my absolute favorite graphic novel series, the Owly books, has a brilliant new picture book! Friends All Aflutter is in the same wordless style as Runton’s books for older kids, but in a new format, friendly for younger children. Much beloved characters Owly and Wormy are interested in butterflies. They figure they need to plant some flowers to attract butterflies, so they go to the nursery. But when their flowers bloom, there are caterpillars living in them instead! Owly and Wormy are mildly outraged by this turn of events, but grow extremely fond of the caterpillars over time. So fond, in fact, that they are terribly sad to learn their caterpillar friends must go away for the colder seasons! Owly and Wormy miss their new friends, but won’t they be surprised when they get the butterflies they originally wished for in the spring? Friends All Aflutter is charming in so many ways. I love how clearly Runton tells the story without any text. I love the message of friendship and devotion it delivers. I even love that when Owly has an idea it’s illustrated by the appearance of an energy efficient light bulb above his head! I’ve had the pleasure to meet Andy Runton, and have a book signed by him, and he was a super sweet guy, so I might be a little bias, but I assure you I am not the only person at this library that adores Owly. Every time I put an Owly book on display, it is checked out within 24 hours. Every single time. So I simply must implore you to do yourself and your little one a favor by checking out the sufficiently delightful Friends All Aflutter ASAP. I do not think you’ll be disappointed 🙂 See this book listed in our catalog
Shadow
Submitted by Ms. Catherine!
When I was growing up, I was constantly finding new ways to play pretend. I was always imagining that I could travel to a new place, and that I had some sort of magical ability. In Suzy Lee’s beautiful new wordless book, Shadow, we meet a girl with a delightfully vivid imagination. Playing in her attic, where the light makes lots of shadows on the wall, the girl’s imagination creates an entirely new world. The left side pages show the attic in its original form, while the right side pages show how the girl’s imagination changes her surroundings. Eventually, the magic of her imagination invades the real world in the form of a darker creature. But taking charge of her own make-believe, the little girl is able to conquer her fears, and play with the creature, who turns out to be a friend. The ending is reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are, when the call of “Dinner!” brings the make-believe to an end. This is a great book to look at with your child and talk about what you see. You can pick out the animals the girl imagines, and identify what real objects create the shadows. You can also discuss what imagination is, and why make-believe can’t hurt anyone. See this book listed in our catalog
The Chicken Thief
Submitted by Ms. Melissa!
What would a fox do with a chicken? Anyone who knows anything about the food chain would guess right. The Chicken Thief, a wordless picture book by Beatrice Rodriguez, tells such a story a bit differently. Rabbit and Bear live happily in their abode with a flock of chickens. One day, while they’re happily lunching, a fox comes along and steals a chicken! Off the fox runs with the chicken, through the woods, the deep dark forest, the mountains, and a rocky meadow. Through underground tunnels, to the beach, across the ocean, and finally to a fox’s den under a large tree, all while a desperate trio – the bear, the rabbit, and a rooster – chase closely to Fox’s tail, and an unlikely relationship begins to unfold along the journey. This story tells a tale of acceptance, and not judging a book by its cover. See this book listed in our catalog