Our Favorite Wordless Picture Books

At One Hoppin’ Place, the countdown to bedtime is about to begin when a family of hamsters — a mother and father with nine kids and a baby all wearing numbered striped jerseys — arrives at the front door.

Slowly and quietly on this particular Tuesday, a few fat frogs begin hovering over a swamp, riding lily pads like magic carpets. Gradually, the flying fleet grows in momentum and number, sailing over the countryside and into an unsuspecting town.

In this charming tale, a little boy makes friends with a snowman. He wakes up on a snowy day, tells his mother he’s going outside, then begins a flurry of snowman-building. That night, he can’t sleep, so he opens the front door and lo! the snowman has come to life.

Mother duck needs help to find her mischievous missing duckling in this Caldecott Honor Book. She asks the other pond animals for help (though the missing one is never lost, only cleverly concealed in each picture).

When is a gorilla like Curious George? When he (and a parade of animals) follow the zookeeper home at bedtime — and snuggles in with the zookeeper’s wife with very fast and funny results.

When a boy in a red sweatshirt lags behind his classmates on a field trip to an art museum, he discovers a group of maze pictures. Amazingly, he finds himself small enough to go into the labyrinths — and out again with a medal. Was his adventure real or imagined? Once reunited with his class, he still has his medal, so who’s to say? Crisp images tell the entire story without words.

When a small monkey spies a banana, he leaves the juggler and starts a chain of events that create chaos and laughs for the reader. Careful readers will note that the signs, which rhyme when read in sequence, add to the humor of this nearly wordless adventure and bring the story full circle.

On a cold morning, a little old lady decides to make pancakes for breakfast, but has a hard time finding all of the ingredients. This wordless picture book tells a story of determination and humor, ideal for young readers who can narrate the story as they go.

A lovable Rottweiler named Carl has everthing under control while Mom steps out on an errand. Or does he?

Become the storyteller when examining the inventive illustrations that start with a boy who looks out the window on a rainy day. He finds a mysterious key, which leads to an imaginative adventure with other children on a sunny beach. Could it be real? Readers add the story that accompanies this lively book without words.

No words are needed to share a child’s seaside adventure as she plays with the waves, is knocked down by one, and then discovers the sea’s gifts brought to shore by the wave. Softly lined wash in a limited color palette evoke a summer afternoon on the beach.

The well-known fable about how the smallest creature — a mouse — saves the majestic lion is a tale of kindness returned. Here it is effectively recast as a wordless story in a new setting. Stunning illustrations are expressive and emotive, evoking Africa’s Serengeti while retaining the tale’s power. (2010 Caldecott Medal Winner)

A beaver’s adventure begins on a log that floats away from his home and into the city. Before finding his way back, the beaver has many plausible adventures. The action is depicted in well-placed, realistic illustrations in a nearly wordless book.

Two stories of two boys on different continents are told almost wordlessly; their tales are both dissimilar and similar, and unknowingly intersect. One boy and his family live in Australia, the other in Morocco (North Africa). Each story is told in textured collage illustrations presented literally side by side.

A sly walrus evades the zookeeper, all the while hiding in plain sight: at a lunch counter, in a window display, and many equally obvious (and silly) places. After taking a swimming prize, the walrus returns to the zoo. Flat forms augment the understated comedy of this wordless tale.

How a small white dog with black ears loses his orange ball to another hound but finds friendship instead comes to life through the author/illustrator’s signature illustrations. (2012 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Readers are encouraged to tell the story of a brave farm girl who provides food to someone who has escaped in this sophisticated, expressive, wordless book. Inspired by family stories, the author allows adults to fill in the historical detail while children recognize the story’s power.

Join three children who find a magical piece of chalk that begins an exciting series of events to figure out “what next.” This might be fun to use together with Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon.

A girl finds a book with a red cover on a winter day that transports her to a sunny beach. The idea of getting lost in a book (figuratively and magically) is presented wordlessly; only illustrations are used. The story can be told or written any number of ways according to the writer’s interpretation of the story.

Wondrous things happen in the skies above Manhattan in this wordless book that explores what happens when we unlock our imagination.

The biblical rainy-day tale comes to life through delicate, detail-packed illustrations in this wordless picture book.

With wordless joy a brother and sister turn a raining day into an excuse for adventure through the neighborhood.

When a bird flies into an exhibit of dinosaurs, the museum walls and the bones begin to change to prehistoric times. The amazing fantasy comes full circle to a satisfying conclusion.

This wordless book tells the story of a boy and his dog trying to catch a frog. As they head home empty-handed, they are surprised to find that the frog followed them home!

There are things to do indoors and outside. But the inside goes outside and the reverse with cutouts on pages in this attractive wordless book. Simple lines and flat colors are appealing on brown paper, and encourage careful — and multiple — examinations.

A handsome feline named Mr. Wuffles is quite fussy about his toys. But he certainly enjoys a small roundish object he comes across unexpectedly. Surprises abound when readers see what that object holds and how — and from whom — the aliens contained in it find help. The three-time Caldecott medalist presents another fresh, nearly wordless tale.

Flora dances on a thick sheet of ice with a penguin companion who appears from a hole in the ice. Humor and movement are enhanced by the gentle depiction of fluid girl and bird body language, and through the unique perspectives shown. Glued-in flaps and fold-outs add another dimension and a bit of surprise.

A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam — anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there’s no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share … and to keep. (2007 Caldecott Medal Winner)

This wordless time-travel fantasy takes readers on a trip to a world of secret messages left in secret boxes hidden in secret places. The story begins as three boys discover a box in the top floor of their urban boarding school that holds decades-old sepia photographs of a schoolboy, a postcard, and a map leading to a location on the coast.

Inside a tent it’s cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, the author has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art. Both lyrical and humorous, this visual poem — like the flashlight beam itself — reveals that there is magic in the darkness.

While walking through the forest, Hank finds an egg on the forest floor. After spotting its nest high up in a tree, he uses his ingenuity to help get the egg home safe and sound, and is joyfully rewarded with newfound friends. Hank’s endearing and genuine kindness will inspire readers young and old to believe in themselves and in the goodness of others.

In this almost wordless picture book, a host of woodland creatures take a child’s sled for a nighttime joy ride. Their whimsical ride is gorgeously depicted in bold watercolor, complemented by humorous expressions and pitch-perfect sound effects.

When a boy and his dog go for a hike, the boy trips on a fossil, and it comes to life, revealing an ancient plant. The boy is so intrigued that he breaks two more fossils that come to life — a dragonfly and a pteranodon. When these prehistoric creatures collide with present reality, the boy must figure out a way to make things go back to normal. Visually told through art, this wordless story will surely spark imagination and creativity.

The story follows Anno as he rides through the streets and countryside of Northern Europe. This wordless picture book tells the stories of each hamlet, farmyard, circus, and town square in visually rich, and often surprising detail. The author introduces geography and science by focusing on children and adults at work and play, as well as on art, architecture, composers, and painters, as he conducts an imaginary tour of England

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. This wordless picture book is about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

A baseball game. A kid watching. An outfielder needed. It should be an easy out, but not really when all manner of fantastic things get in the way of catching the ball. What really happens in this a riveting, nearly wordless baseball game is open to interpretation and certainly worthy of multiple examinations.

A girl is lost in a snowstorm. A wolf cub is lost, too. How will they find their way home? Paintings rich with feeling tell this satisfying, wordless story of friendship and trust.