Do You Want to be My Friend?

Eric Carle (1971), 30 pages

Audience: All ages

Format: picture book

Meet one hopeful Mouse looking for friendship, –who along the way … finds it! Carle has once again created a wonderful children’s book for all ages. Presented in a nearly wordless format, this book prompts the reader with just one question “Do you want to be my friend?” As Little Mouse adventures out he runs into a variety of animals along the way including an especially long snake. Carle’s classic collage-images are vivid against the minimal white background, simple though they may seem, his design placement is intentional for young children trying to build reading readiness skills, “the ingenious placement of the pictures shows the child the correct direction in which to turn the page” establishing that the story is read from left to right. This important skill (understanding how books work and how they are read) is known as print awareness; a fundamental early literacy skill. This story also, builds another great reading readiness skill known as narrative (storytelling) ability. A practically wordless book, readers are encouraged to create and narrate the illustrations. Carle includes tips on storytelling and narrating this story in a note to parents and teachers in the book’s forward. Adorable and educational – the best of both worlds!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: The Hunter and the Animals by Tomie dePaola, The Story of a Little Mouse Trapped in a Book by Monique Felix or The Colors by Monique Felix

Other books by this author: From Head to Toe, My Very First Book of Colors, The Grouchy Ladybug, and Pancakes, Pancakes!

Good Dog, Carl

Alexandra Day (1996), 40 pages

Audience: babies, toddlers

Format: Board book

“Look after the baby, Carl. I'll be back shortly" says mother as she leaves Carl, her trusty Rottweiler to babysit Baby Madeline. Moments later readers are treated the duo's busy afternoon of dancing, eating, getting into mother's makeup drawer, even swimming in the fish tank ... after all the ruckus, Carl dutifully cleans up the mess, gives baby a bath, and puts baby back safely in the crib. When mother returns, little does she know ... the wild adventure Carl and the baby have had! Children will delight in this book's absurdity! The images are endearing and sweet, easy for pre-readers to follow along and create their own stories. Although this is a wordless picture book ... the narrative is just as engaging as a traditional text. Day's characters reappear in a series of Carl books - highly recommended for babies and toddlers!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: Tuesday (Caldecott award) by David Wiesner, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson, or Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola

Other books by this author: Carl’s Sleepy Afternoon, You’re a Good Dog, Carl, and Carl Goes Shopping

The Surprise

Sylvia van Ommen (2007), 22 pages

Audience: All ages

Format: picture book

Van Ommen’s The Surprise is just that – a wonderful surprise! The author manages to tell a unique story in this wordless picture with her charming illustrated characters. So what exactly is Sheep up to? And what is the big surprise? Well there’s a clue in the title written out in red yarn … this story begins with Sheep weighing, inspecting, and measuring her wool. Hopping on her trusty red scooter, Sheep heads over to the dye shop. After selecting red as her color preference, readers are treated to a series of hilarious steps as Sheep dyes, washes, dries, and shaves off her newly dyed crimson coat. Now naked, Sheep slips on a colorful sweater and heads over to Poodle who spins her roving into yarn. Once the yarn is formed, Sheep begins the process of knitting – her project is soon finished and wrapped up for gift giving. So who gets a custom-made hand-knit? Well, none other than Giraffe, who is oh, so handsome and happy with his new sweater! This book is filled with delightful details and charismatic characters. Van Ommen’s images are simple yet engaging making the wordless storyline obvious enough for any young child to follow along. Wordless books are great tools for developing a child’s narrative ability (an important pre-literacy skill). Have your child tell you what’s happening in the pictures; engage their imagination. Or if they are too young for narration, have them identify colors, objects, and actions. This book is one that can be enjoyed at any age!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski, Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie dePaola or Knitting Nell by Julie Jersild Roth

Other books by this author: Jellybeans and Sheep and Goat

Museum Trip

Barbara Lehman (2006), 32 pages

Audience: All ages

Format: picture book

Barbara Lehman's wordless storyline is endearing and creative with illustrations that really tell a complete narrative! Similar in style to her Caldecott honored The Red Book, Museum Trip is written in a wordless narrative with illustrations that tell the story of a child's museum visit and getting lost in its maze (literary by being separated from their class and figuratively as he gets "lost" or engrossed in the artifacts/exhibits on display at the museum). But wait … was finding his way through the maze just a daydream? Well, you’ll have to decide for yourself as he leaves the museum with a shiny souvenir there may be reason to think otherwise. A story that will delight children of all ages!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book you may like: Time Flies by Eric Rohmann, Wave by Suzy Lee, or Free Fall by David Wiesner

Other books by this author: The Red Book (Caldecott Honor), Trainstop, and Rainstorm