Quantcast

Wordless Picture books: Suggestions for a 4-year-old?

Can I just say that I am loving the awesome discussion going on in the comments of the post about Diversifying Your Child's Bookshelf? Such fun! So many good ideas! Let's keep it going. :)

In fact, I liked the thread over there about wordless picture books so much that I want to bring it up here on the main page. I need more suggestions!

picture books for a four year old
Levi is dying for a book he can read all by himself
 My son Levi is four years old and just on the edge of being able to read on his own. He watches his older brother Benjamin come home from school and read voraciously. But when Levi asks Benjamin to read his books out loud, Benjamin often declines, saying, "I'm reading silently."

It won't surprise you, then, that the other day Levi asked me for some books that HE could read silently. When I suggested some of his favorites from our shelf, books that he knows well, he was distraught. "I can't read those!" See, he knows what reading is and he knows he's not quite there yet. But he wants so badly to be able to do what the rest of us do. What a painful stage!



I took him to the library the day after he asked for books to read silently, and we browsed as usual. Then I asked our librarian to recommend some wordless picture books. She came through with the adorable books about Carl by Alexandra Day. However, he rejected these once they got home, because Follow Carl! started with a few words. *augh*

picture books for a four year old

We've read Journey by Aaron Becker, and its sequel, Quest. I plan to revisit Tuesday and Flotsam by David Weisner.



What else is there? I'd love more suggestions. I put Noah's Ark by Peter Spier on hold at my library. Also Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage -- we all loved that one, but it has been long enough that Levi probably doesn't remember it.


Of course, if you have great suggestions that aren't wordless picture books, I am totally open to those, too. Please tell me what worked for your child at this tricky age. 
Thanks in advance! See you in the comments ;)

picture books for a four year old

Making a purchase through affiliate links in this post 
will grant me a small commission on the sale, just so ya know! 
My commission comes at no extra cost to you.

16 comments:

  1. Quest was so much fun to read with your boys! We always enjoyed Peter Spiers Christmas along with Noah's Ark. Another we like is Anno's Math or any Anno books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah, Anno! Ok I'm lookin' those up. Thanks, Kate!

      Delete

  2. Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola and Chalk by Bill Thomson are two of our favorite wordless picture books. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! Ok I have put both of these on hold. I remember seeing Chalk on the shelf, but I've never read it. And I had no idea dePaola did a wordless picture book! I'm excited!

      Delete
    2. There's another similar book by Bill Thomson called Fossil that's well worth a look. You might also try Barbara Lehman's books Rainstorm and Trainstop. They are fabulous and have enough detail to engage a four year old. Good for you, finding the right books that work with your son at this particular stage!

      Delete
    3. Yippee! All of these are at our library. Thank you Jen! (It feels a little weird to call you Jen. I think of you as "Jen Robinson" haha!) The truth is I'm desperately trying to convince him that there are fun things to do that don't involve the Wii. :D

      Delete
  3. I was going to suggest Noah's Ark! Glad someone already did :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Silence by KC Snider. The adventure of a golden mantle squirrel at Crater Lake National Park. Stunning artwork and adorable little chipmunk. http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/silence.htm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that artwork IS stunning. Photorealism might work really well for him! Thanks, Kai. I wish they had the book in ePub format.

      Delete
  5. Love this! I feel like wordless picture books are a little tricky. I like The Lion and the Mouse (Jerry Pinkney), but it does have a few animal sound words if we're strict on the wordless front... I was not thrilled by Bluebird, but Bob Staake has some fun I Spy-type books (Look! A Book!, etc.)--a genre that my pre-reading son especially enjoys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ok I don't think I've read ANY of Bob Staake's books. Score! A new author for me!

      We've read Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse, but *since then* we've read a version with words. (In Classic Bedtime Stories by Scott Gustafson, which I will be reviewing shortly.)So... I think he might enjoy the wordless version even more now. I will have to test that theory.

      Delete
    2. Bluebird isn't bad; it just seemed pretty hyped and I only thought it was okay. My boys liked it though, so definitely worth checking out. And all of us (husband included) enjoy the seek-and-find ones!

      Delete
    3. they will be waiting for us at the library shortly! :D Thanks Michelle!

      Delete
  6. Some of my kids enjoyed reading (over and over) some of the stories they had memorized (because they were simple or they were easy to remember because they rhyme). I think you should let Levi know that Grammy Cami says that looking at the picture and remembering the words is also reading, and it helps him figure out more words. Some books that worked well for this were Pickle Things, and board books. In fact, Jubi sometimes needs a big brother to read her a story, even if he doesn't get all the words just right. I love that boy, he just charms the grins outta me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, right?! But he was totally not buying that. Maybe I do need to tell him that Grammy Cami says so. We'll team up and charm him into it. ;)

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...