Not merely words

   We just picked up our latest batch of children's books at the library.  I really enjoyed Chalk, which has no words but is beautifully illustrated in a photo realistic style and manages to portray an imaginative tale without the use of words.

This got me thinking about the other books that we enjoy, which though they have some text, we really enjoy for the illustrations.  They are busy books which definitely have a narrative and keep us occupied for ages looking at the pictures, finding hidden characters and naming and talking about what we see in the pictures.

The first is, In the Town All Year 'Round which was given to Bud Bud by a great friend of ours.  I had never heard about it, but we spent hours and hours learning about seasons and what happens in the town at different times of year, animals, buildings, farms and people, etc.  There are just enough words to give little hints to the story and give names to the characters, but not enough to stop you from using your own imagination.  Bud Bud loves this book.

 Cars and Trucks and Things That Go is the other one.  This one was given to Bud Bud by Grandma Mimi who used to read me Richard Scarry books as a kid.  Bud Bud loves looking for Goldbug and talking about the different kinds of vehicles.  We have used this book to learn about colors, counting, types of cars and trucks, animals and much more.

Give these books a try - I find myself somehow hesitant to say this, but you don't always need words to have a good book.