Early Years Foundation Stage: learning to love books: Wordless Picture Books

This book is about a book. A magical red book without any words. When you turn the pages you'll experience a new kind of adventure through the power of story. Winning a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations of rare detail and surprise, The Red Book crosses oceans and continents to deliver one girl into a new world of possibility, where a friend she never met is waiting. And as with the best of books, at the conclusion of the story, the journey is not over.

"Good night, Gorilla," says the zookeeper. But mischievous Gorilla isn't quite ready to go to sleep. He'd rather follow the zookeeper on his rounds and let all of the other animals out of their cages. Little night owls can sneak along with Gorilla and see who gets the last laugh in this riotous goodnight romp. Practically wordless yet full of expressive art and hilarious, adorable detail, this book from Caldecott Medal winning author Peggy Rathmann is sure to become a beloved part of children's own bedtime rituals. ALA Notable Children's Book for 1994 Bulletin Blue Ribbon 1994 Horn Book Fanfare 1995 selection Parenting Magazine "Best Children's Books of 1994" New York Public Library 1995 "Children's Books 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing" "In a book economical in text and simple in illustrations, the many amusing, small details, as well as the tranquil tome of the story, make this an outstanding picture book." --The Horn Book, starred review "The amiable cartoon characters, vibrant palette, and affectionate tone of the author's art recall Thatcher Hurd's cheerful illustrations. Delightful."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review "A clever, comforting bedtime story." --School Library Journal, starred review "Jaunty four-color artwork carries the story and offers more with every look." --Booklist

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner Join Anno, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, on a spectacular tour of Europe! A pictorial journey through the traditional countryside, farms, and towns of northern Europe takes readers past familiar storybook characters, visual jokes and puzzles, tricks of perspective, and other surprises. "With paintings, visual puzzles and tricks of perception, Anno 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 . . . Lush paintings, exquisitely detailed . . . An exceptional book."--Publishers Weekly "Executed in meticulous and gently hued watercolors, this imaginative rendering will fill hours of wonderment, always with the delightful anticipation of seeking still one more amazing detail."--Booklist

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. Each of David Wiesner's amazing picture books has revealed the magical possibilities of some ordinary thing or happening--a frog on a lily pad, a trip to the Empire State Building, a well-known nursery tale. In this Caldecott Medal winner, a day at the beach is the springboard into a wildly imaginative exploration of the mysteries of the deep, and of the qualities that enable us to witness these wonders and delight in them.

The unpredictable events of a particular Tuesday unroll before the reader with the precision and clarity of a silent movie. A Caldecott Medal book.

Only the person who gave us Tuesday could have devised this fantastic Caldecott Honor-winning tale, which begins with a school trip to the Empire State Building. There a boy makes friends with a mischievous little cloud, who whisks him away to the Cloud Dispatch Center for Sector 7 (the region that includes New York City). The clouds are bored with their everyday shapes, so the boy obligingly starts to sketch some new ones. . . . The wordless yet eloquent account of this unparalleled adventure is a funny, touching story about art, friendship, and the weather, as well as a visual tour de force.

Winner of the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal This New York Times Bestseller and New York Times Best Illustrated Book relates a story about love and loss as only Chris Rashcka can tell it. Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. In the tradition of his nearly wordless picture book Yo! Yes?, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka explores in pictures the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring. Raschka's signature swirling, impressionistic illustrations and his affectionate story will particularly appeal to young dog lovers and teachers and parents who have children dealing with the loss of something special.

The Caldecott Award-winning fable of compassion and kindness retold by acclaimed artist Jerry Pinkney. In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.