In Beatrice Rodriguez’s The Chicken Thief, a fox runs off with a plump white hen, and is pursued by the chicken’s friends: a bear, a rabbit, and a rooster. Expressive, detail-rich illustrations fill the panoramic pages as the animals chase through the forest, up and through a mountain, and across a stormy sea. A surprise develops gradually over the course of the story – a gentle romance between fox and chicken. Other surprises lend a little humor: how did the chicken get those sunglasses for the boat ride, for example? The furious and jilted rooster's expressions throughout the book are also pretty funny - Rodriguez has a cartoonist's knack for conveying a lot of emotion and information in a deft ink stroke. Readers who enjoy this book might also like to find out what happens next in Rodriguez's sequel, Fox and Hen Together, such as what creature hatches from the egg (!!).
Wordless picture books are a great choice for many readers and situations! They are perfect for parents to engage in dialogic reading with their children – asking questions and discussing the illustrations in order to tell the story. Young almost-readers can find fun and encouragement in being able to read wordless stories independently, and develop their reading comprehension and narrative skills along the way. Confident readers can enjoy wordless picture books, too, applying their own creativity in telling the story and exploring the details in the illustrations.
Most importantly, wordless picture books are fun and engaging. With the illustrations providing the entirety of the narrative, character, and setting, many wordless books are also quite beautiful.
Other wordless picture books:
The Tree House by Marije Tolman & Ronald Tolman
Ice by Arthur Geisert
The Red Book and other titles by Barbara Lehman
Chalk by Bill Thomson
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Truck by Donald Crews
