Using Wordless Picture Books at Home
By Maxine E. Van Doren, M.S., CCC-SLP
Wordless picture books offer a fun, low-demand reading activity with endless possibilities for learning.
While, many clinicians use wordless picture books for treatment and assessment of pediatric speech-language disorders, at home they offer opportunities to create a language rich reading experience and carry-over therapy goals. Despite being wordless, these picture books help develop early literacy and language skills when they are used well.
For example, while telling the story, you can ask your child questions about how characters are feeling, what they think might happen next, or have them tell parts of the story to carry-over language goals; you can also use the books to relate the story to your child’s personal experiences to help them develop personal narrative skills.
Wordless pictures books can also be used to carry-over articulation therapy by having your child tell the story or describe pictures using his or her target sound.
Some of our favorite wordless picture books include the Mercer Mayer’s Frog series (A boy, a dog, and frog; Frog, where are you?; One frog too many, etc), Chalk by Bill Thompson, and Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day.