Wordless Books – Love Them or Hate Them?
Wordless books seem to be a little like marmite; you either love it or hate it! How about you? I only realised the passion people felt on the subject when I was teaching. On several different occasions I was scolded by parents for sending home a wordless book.
If like me you love wordless books then this is a wordless wonder you will adore. If you’re not one for wordless books then let me sway you with this deep, rich book debut by @kimJihyun that needs no words – The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky.
Slowing Down
Life is so fast paced and often we can find ourselves galloping through a book with the text like a race horse. Often the tempo of the writing invites us to read in a swift way. Wordless books allow you to sink delightfully into the illustrated spreads like a warm bath.
You find yourself immersed in a reflective experience as you begin to piece together what is happening from the images on the page. Up to a point, you can be the author telling your own narrative.
The Cover
The cover immediately draws you in making you question what is happening to the boy? How did he get there? Is he ok? I love covers that make me want to look inside. You may already know how much I love #Endpapers and I love that this book has the cityscape at the front with the countryside at the back.
You get a tiny, narrative snippet of text on the dust jacket or the inner back cover that introduces the context of the book. A boy packing and heading from the city to visit his grandparents in the countryside.
The packing spread is so enticing to spot the similarities and differences between the boy’s room and your own room. It would make an interesting discussion point as to where in the world this book is set. I know several children I’ve worked with in the past would have noticed the non-UK plug socket straight away.
Wordless Wonder
There’s an awe and wonder to the book. You see the look of the boy’s face as he enters the wild, the beckoning of the lake and the splash. Even the shadows of the city seem strained and vying for space in comparison to those of the countryside.
Exploring Vocabulary Without Words
Publisher Floris Books suggest an age range of 4-7 for this book however, I think it could extend further into junior years too.
This would make an exceptional book to explore vocabulary. Using one of the spreads to come up with all the words you could think of to describe the illustration. Then perhaps turning to a thesaurus to gather new vocabulary. This would be a perfect book to develop poetry with. Again, using an individual spread to create your own poem.
Nikki Gamble suggested in one of her monthly Book Blasts that it would be an ideal book to compose soundscapes for; I totally agree.
Thank you to Floris for sending this copy for review.
For more book blog posts click here.
