The first chapter of Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland" starts this way.

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do.

Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it.

And what is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?

The following program is dedicated to Alice, and to all other children who peep into books, hoping to find pictures and conversations.

♪ Oh I can believe ♪ ♪ in everything I read.

♪ ♪ Little boy blue.

♪ ♪ A lady with ♪ a shoe and a dish ♪ ♪ run off with a spoon.

♪ ♪ Well, hickory dickory dock.

♪ ♪ A scholar he's ♪ late to school.

♪ ♪ And I like a cow.

♪ ♪ I jump over the moon.

♪ ♪ Rick Sebak> Man has known about the power of pictures since long before he learned how to read or write.

Eventually, pictures became an important part of early forms of writing, and throughout man's history, pictorial representations have been used to send many different kinds of messages, from the religious to the profane.

The ancient Chinese saying about a picture being worth a thousand words is a cliche, but like many cliches, it's based on a simple truth.

A picture can tell a story, and anyone who's ever been a child will probably remember when pictures were the best part of most books.

Kids today are lucky.

They can find many books that are essentially all pictures.

Stories told without words.

These books are often called wordless books in a relatively short period of time.

They have become an important part of every preschoolers library.

We're going to take a look at a lot of wordless books.

They can be valuable tools for children, and many of them are outstanding examples of the art of illustration.

It's hard to say exactly when the first wordless picture book was printed.

Even in the 18th century, when most books for children were religious and didactic.

The wisdom of using pictures was apparent.

This "Hieroglyphick Bible", for the amusement and instruction of children, shows how woodcut illustrations were used to engage young minds in holy thoughts.

Words weren't eliminated, but many were replaced by tiny pictures.

The result was a rebus puzzle for the pious yet playful parishioner.

But it wasn't until the 20th century that illustrators tried to tell a story completely without words.

Silent movies may have had a lot to do with it.

Motion pictures reminded everyone that visual images could often be eloquent.

Literary critic Barbara Bader links the development of wordless picture books with the history of movies in her book, titled "American Picturebooks "From Noah's Ark to the Beast Within", she points out that in the 1920s, when silent movies were most sophisticated, there were several wordless novels published for adults.

These dark, expressionistic woodcuts are from Lynd Ward's wordless novel entitled "Gods Man", first published in 1929.

Ms.

Bader considers "A Head for Happy" by Helen Sewell, as perhaps the earliest wordless book for children, even though it includes a few words in some of its illustrations.

"A Head for Happy" was published in 1931, shortly after sound came to the movies.

Ms.

Bader suggests that just as the talkies may have hastened, if not caused, the demise of picture novels, the addition of sound to motion pictures may have checked the further development of wordless picture books.

In 1932, however, Ruth Carroll published a wordless book called "What Whiskers Did", but its pictorial technique didn't catch on for decades.

In 1965, as many wordless books began to appear, "What Whiskers Did" was republished.

Ms.

Bader calls this publishing trend a sign of the times.

In the 60s, teachers, librarians, and parents began to place emphasis on cognitive learning and on reading pictures in preparation for reading words.

Bader feels that Maurice Sendak's picture sequences in books like "Hector Protector" laid the ground for the new spate of wordless picture books.

Artist Mercer Mayer, whose style is often compared with Sendak's, published his first wordless book in 1967, "A Boy, a Dog and a Frog" is the simple story of a boy's attempt to catch a bug eyed frog.

The frog eludes the boy's net, but he feels lonely after the boy and the dog go home, so he follows them and joins them in the bathtub.

Mayer and his readers obviously like these characters a lot.

There have been several sequels.

"Frog, Where Are You" was second, then Mayer collaborated with his wife on a third book called "A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend."

"Frog on His Own" appeared in 1973.

Then in 1974, "Frog Goes to Dinner", which many consider to be the best of the lot.

Mayer worked with his wife again on the 1975 book titled "One Frog Too Many".

Mayer's pen and ink drawings are easily as effective as words could ever be, in the telling of these simple stories.

The books can be momentarily confusing, however, because while some illustrations are complete on one page, others cover a full two page spread.

Sometimes the single page drawings seem to bleed together across the gutter of the book.

Margins or borders could easily remedy the situation.

Nonetheless, Mercer Mayer has mastered much of the art of wordless storytelling.

In 1976, he published two Non-frog books.

The first was entitled "Ah-Choo".

The second "Hiccup".

These Mayer books full of funny hippos, elephants and rhinos are good examples of wordless books for several reasons.

In his text book Children and Literature, John Warren Stewig identifies two characteristics of wordless books which he feels set these books apart from other pictures storybooks for the young.

First, he says, generally speaking, a majority of them seem to feature animals as main characters.

Then he points out that another characteristic of wordless books is that many are fantasy.

This other Mercer Mayer book, "Bubble Bubble," is a pertinent example.

A boy in knickers purchases some magic bubble mixture and creates a set of incredible animal bubbles.

Stewig notices that few wordless books describe in realistic ways, places, and experiences children will know directly.

More often, these books deal with unusual main characters doing unusual things in unusual places.

At the end of "Bubble Bubble", when it seems like the fantasy is over, the boy throws away the rest of the magic mixture.

On the last page, a dejected dragon arises from the spilled stuff.

The fantasy can go on and on.

Obviously, clear, simple action is an important part of these wordless books.

In their text Children and Books, Zena Sutherland and May Hill Arbuthnot emphasize that since the interpretation of books without words depends entirely on the pictures, it is of paramount importance that both the immediate action of each picture and the sequence of action in all the pictures be unequivocally clear.

Look at Peter Wezel's simple illustrations in "The Good Bird", a friendly pink bird meets a sad goldfish in a bowl and then flies away to find them both some grub.

The bird worms her way into the fish's heart.

Any child who is able to turn pages should be able to follow this story.

"Turning the pages of books" by John S. Goodall can be a special treat.

He's a British artist who has created an impressive stack of wordless books.

His most famous character is an adventuresome pig named Paddy Pork.

Paddy first appeared in 1968, in a book called "The Adventures of Paddy Pork."

It's a small book, perfect for small hands.

The illustrations are excellent pen and ink drawings that evoke the 19th century.

Goodall's pages are extra special, however, because he uses half page inserts which cause simple visual tricks that progress the action of his stories.

Paddy returned in 1969, in a hot air balloon, but carried him to new adventures.

Goodall's talents as a painter are evident in some of the more recent Paddy Pork books, all done in full color.

"There's Paddy's Evening Out" and "Paddy Pork's Holiday" and "Paddy's New Hat".

Unlike many characters in children's books, Paddy seems to be getting older.

Goodall has also created other animal characters who experience a variety of adventures.

All told, with the clever half page illustrations.

His other books include "Shrewbettina's Birthday", and "Jacko", about an organ grinder's monkey who finds his way home to his mother in the jungle.

"Creepy Castle", which features a couple of medieval mice, and "Surprise Picnic", about an incredible outing with a cat and her two kittens.

Although most of Goodall's books support Stewig's contention that wordless books feature mostly animal characters, he's also published this book called "An Edwardian Summer".

It's also wordless, but its characters are human.

It has no action packed plot like the "Paddy Pork" books.

It's a straightforward presentation of a peaceful English summer in the first decade of the 20th century.

In children and literature, Stewig identifies two criteria which he feels should be kept in mind when evaluating wordless books.

The first is picture quality.

The second story quality look at "Deep in the Forest" by Brinton Turkle.

It's the story of a small bear who ventures into a cabin one day.

Now, Stewig says that in evaluating wordless books, it is important to be aware of the artist's use of line, color, proportion, detail, and space.

Turkle's illustrations are very good.

His lines are simple and effective.

His use of color is limited, but variations on this one earthy tone set a nice autumnal mood.

It feels like late afternoon.

Turkle's sense of proportion is also praiseworthy.

His use of white space on some of the illustrations makes the bear's actions distinct.

Yet when detail is appropriate, the details are well suited and significant as far as picture quality is concerned.

"Deep in the Forest" seems to be outstanding.

Its story clearly, is a clever turnabout of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears".

When Stewig proposes that story quality be the second criterion for evaluating wordless books, he's suggesting the concerned adults will want to pay attention to more than just the artwork.

This is the "Scribble Monster" by Jack Kent.

It's a simple tale of kids who apparently can't read the no graffiti sign on a blank wall, and they get carried away drawing read characters all over the place.

Together, they create a monster who comes to life and chases them around the city.

The boy saves the day with his eraser.

Stewig recommends that you appraise wordless books in terms of character, setting, plot, message, and what he calls readability level.

How difficult is the book?

The simplicity of these elements in The "Scribble Monster" makes it an easy book to understand.

Its readability level would probably be low.

Very young children can understand what's going on.

Not all wordless books are so elementary, however.

Take a look at "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs.

It's a good example of a fantasy wordless book, and its length and complexity.

Make it a book for a little older audience.

A young boy builds a snowman who comes to life magically in the frosty night.

The pictures are done in soft, muted colors.

The pages are arranged in sets of panels laid out somewhat like a comic book.

It's a good book for showing kids that you read all the information on one page before going on to the next.

That's one part of what's called reading readiness.

In their text book, "Children and Books", Zena Sutherland and May Hill Arbuthnot write about wordless books.

Such books can predispose a young child to the attitude that books are a source of pleasure, can accustom them to the left to right pattern of reading, and can introduce them to the concept of sequential action.

As pages are turned.

All of this is part of reading readiness, and Sutherland and Arbuthnot stress that it must be kept in mind when evaluating these books that they are designed to encourage not reading, but reading readiness.

The distinction may seem trifling, but some experts have expressed serious reservations about wordless books.

Children receive so much visual stimulation from television that many critics feel that wordless books only reinforce the notion that learning to read is not a necessary activity for kids.

What else can wordless books do for children?

There are lots of ideas.

Experts have pointed out that wordless books foster creativity, help develop language skills, and they allow children to experience the private and mysterious link that is established between a book and its reader.

Most experts agree that the lack of words in these books encourages children to retell the story in their own terms.

Unlike many books which adults must read to a child.

These wordless books allow a child to switch roles and tell a story to mom or dad.

Mom> Okay, what's that slide do?

Child> with that idea he receives right there and the fly swatting by, he missed.

Mom> He missed the fly.

My goodness.

Okay, turn the page.

Now what?

Child> Why are they looking up?

Mom> Why are they looking up?

Child> Because the flies may be up there.

Mom> Oh, okay.

Child> And now it's sitting down on the mother's head.

Mom> But what happened to the fly?

Sebak> The story we're hearing is based on the pictures in a book called "The Bear and the Fly" by Paula Winter.

It's an unusual, wordless book that uses a lot of slapstick sight gags.

It can be funny for everybody involved.

Wordless books may be used also with children who know how to read and write.

In the October 1979 issue of Language Arts.

Karen D'Angelo pointed out that wordless books can be used to encourage the development of writing skills, not only with young children who are beginning writers, but also with older students who already possess some skill in writing.

D'Angelo explained that wordless books can promote inferential thinking, creative writing, and positive attitudes about the writing process.

In an article published in top of the News in April 1973, Patricia Jean Chancellor stated that the creative teacher can use the wordless books in any number of learning experiences.

She contends that they may be used to teach reading to those beginning to read, to illiterate adults and two children in need of remedial reading instruction.

In fact, there are some wordless books that should interest adults at least as much as they do children.

This is "Topsy Turvies", an award winning wordless book by Mitsu Marzano.

It contains no story, but instead a collection of clever illustrations which feature optical illusions On each set of pages, these known like creatures inhabit different wacky worlds where gravity, perspective, and logic are somewhat warped.

Anno explains in his postscript, perhaps these pictures of mine will keep all of us young a little longer.

We'll stretch our imaginations enough to help keep us magically human.

In the late 70s, Anno also published two extraordinary wordless books which featured a silent traveler dressed in a blue gray outfit.

The first book, called "Anno's Journey", begins with the arrival of the traveler in a small rowboat.

He buys a horse and starts a fascinating journey across a European landscape, richly detailed, colorful, and charming.

There are clever visual allusions to famous paintings, to familiar fables, and to classic characters.

On each set of pages, there's the constant challenge to find the little traveler on his horse who eventually heads off beyond the horizon, on the final page.

He returns however, in "Anno's Italy", a similar book about a journey across the Italian countryside.

He seems to travel through time as well on these journeys.

In Italy, Anno includes biblical stories by alluding to famous religious paintings.

And if you follow the path across the pages, you'll meet some shepherds, and you may notice a rabbit with a pocket watch and two little girls nearby.

One of them is probably named Alice.

In the book, there are thousands of details and stories and surprises.

It may require some careful help from an adult, but kids can learn to appreciate Anno's wordless complexity.

Hours can be spent looking at these books, and the pleasures of discovery may be remembered long after the traveler gets back in his boat and rows away.

There are other wordless books which don't include stories.

This is Graham Oakley's "Magical Changes", an engaging book with pages that are cut in half horizontally.

On the one side, there are pictures with four white columns, and on the other side there are illustrations with six light brown columns.

When you flip the pages back and forth, the columns on both sides line up with other columns from other pictures and make new, not always logical, images.

It's a visual, surrealistic extravaganza.

The European illustrator Tomi Ungerer has put together a wordless book called "One, Two, Where's My Shoe?"

He challenges readers to find footwear and a series of silly drawings, like this slippery fish.

"Noah's Ark" by Peter Spier won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1978, although it includes fierce translation of a 17th century Dutch poem on one page, it's essentially a wordless book, an in-depth visual presentation of the biblical story of Noah.

Like Anno, Spier creates a whole world rich in detail, full of fascinating specifics.

Various pictures throughout the book connect and create wordless subplots.

Two rabbits hop on just before the rain starts.

Unusual aspects of the ancient tale can stretch the imagination.

When the flood subsides, everyone's anxious to get ashore.

Now there are dozens of rabbits and a dirty, smelly ark.

Spier proves that words aren't necessary to tell a very specific and detailed story.

Fernando Krahn, an illustrator from Chile, obviously enjoys the fantasy aspect of wordless storytelling.

His journeys of Sebastian is a wordless trilogy about the adventures of a round headed little boy named Sebastian.

Sebastian enters a series of strange worlds, simple to follow fantasies in Krahn's book, titled "A Flying Saucer "Full of Spaghetti."

He introduces seven elves who decide to help a poor, hungry girl.

They run to a nearby mansion and surprise a rich girl who isn't eating her spaghetti.

They play with the pasta, then magically turn the plate into a flying saucer and speed the spaghetti across town to the poor girl's tiny hut.

When it comes to wordless realism, however, one of the best examples is "The Wrong Side of the Bed" by Edward Ardizzone.

the hero is a boy who's having a bad day.

It should be easy for most kids, even very young ones, to understand what's going on.

And the day doesn't turn out to be all bad.

Little kids will probably be able to identify with the story in "Bobo's Dream", as well.

Martha Alexander created this gratifying tale of a boy and his dog when a bigger dog steals the dotson's bone, the little boy in the football helmet gets it back.

Then, while the boy reads, the dog dreams about a situation which might allow him to repay his master.

The wild imaginations of other animals are also the subject of "Pssst!

Doggie".

The first wordless book by Ezra Jack Keats.

In this book, a tomcat asks a sheepdog if she'd like to dance.

The two of them then cavort in a variety of styles throughout the book.

Mr.

Keats has created several other wordless books full of spry animals, including "Skates!"

and "Kitten for a Day".

The British illustrator Pat Hutchins has put together this wordless book called "Changes, Changes".

It features two wooden dolls, a man and a woman who live in a world made completely of wooden blocks, which can be conveniently rearranged.

Some wordless books are informational.

They may try to expand the awareness of children without telling a story.

Tana Hoban uses photographs in "Dig, Drill, Dump, Fill" to show a variety of men and machines at work.

The words in her title are really all the explanation that's needed.

The title of Donald Crews' book, "Truck" is a bit baffling, however.

This striking book includes brightly colored illustrations of a truck with a load of tricycles.

Unlike the red truck on the cover, however, the truck inside is marked "trucking".

The difference between truck and trucking is slight, but it could be confusing for very young readers.

Nonetheless, truck was named a Caldecott Honor Book for 1981, and Italian couple Iela and Enzo Mari created a wordless book called "The Chicken and the Egg".

Their pictures explain a natural cycle how an egg develops into a chicken, which is capable of starting that cycle all over again.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't help solve the ancient quandary of which came first.

In 1980, Iela Mari alone created another wordless book about another of nature's cycles.

"Eat and Be Eaten" is a graphic display of the food chain.

There are some wordless books for older children which begin to bridge the gap between wordless books and informational books.

The cartoonist Edward Koren put together "Behind the Wheel".

It's a book of vehicles on each set of pages.

There's a sketch of the vehicle on the left with a diagram of its dashboard or control panel beneath.

These diagrams include some explanatory words.

On the right page is a driver's eye view of the road ahead.

Koren shows a number of different vehicles, from a cabin cruiser to a helicopter.

He does not show a spaceship, however, and there are many children who are enthralled by space travel.

They will want to take a long look at "Journey to the Moon" by Erich Fuchs, a German artist.

He appeals to a large audience by including two pages of explanation at the start.

His uncaptioned paintings illustrate the flight of Apollo 11 on its historic trip to the moon.

Some wordless books have encountered a lot of criticism.

John Warren Stewig says "In The Eye of the Teddy" by Frank Asch is a perplexing book.

It's a strange, graphic journey into the shiny black eye of a teddy bear.

Once the eyes, blackness has filled the book's pages.

Then, on the next several sets of pages, a naked boy falls slowly on the left, while a watch and some surrealistic clutter rises on the right.

Stewig points out that the purpose of all this is never clear.

"The Inspector" is another controversial wordless book, and one of the few with both a creator and an illustrator.

The idea apparently came from George Mendoza, but the illustrations are by Peter Parnell, an inspector who looks like Buster Keaton investigates some huge footprints with an enormous magnifying glass, while his little dog tags along.

Monsters are always nearby, like the dotson, and in "Bobo's Dream", this little dog defends his master.

He eats each of the attacking monsters until he becomes a sizable beast himself.

Many critics feel "The Inspector" is too sophisticated for young children.

A similar controversy has arisen over Molly Bang's book "The Grey Lady and The Strawberry Snatcher".

The Grey lady's body and hair are without definition.

She's really a neutral shade closer to beige, and she has a realistic face and hands.

She carries a pint of strawberries and is pursued by a blue wraith who wants to snatch the fruit.

In 1980, when the book was first published, Harold C.K.

Rice in The New York Times Book Review called the book a sumptuously executed, druggy feast that is guaranteed to frighten and bewilder any kid sensitive enough to follow its story.

Patricia Dooley in School Library Journal found that the story is so thin and weird, and the sophisticated techniques so obvious that the ideal audience would appear to be non literate.

20 year olds, rather than pre-literate four year olds.

In spite of the reviews, "The Grey Lady and The Strawberry Snatcher" was named a Caldecott Honor Book for 1981, which leads us to another cliché.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beauty of wordless books is that the beholders eyes don't have to know how to read words.

They can look for the beauty in a story told in pictures.

And sometimes the joy of finding that beauty is more than words could ever say.

♪ ♪ I can believe ♪ ♪ in everything I read.

♪ ♪ A little boy blue, A lady ♪ with a shoe and a dish.

♪ ♪ run off with a spoon.

♪ ♪ Hickory dickory dock, ♪ ♪ A scholar who's late ♪ to school, ♪ ♪ And I like a cow, ♪ I jump over the moon.

♪ ♪ ♪ Jack, he was so quick.

♪ ♪ ♪ He jumped the candlestick.

♪ ♪ Old King Cole ♪ to merry his soul ♪ ♪ make blackbirds ♪ up in a pie.

♪ ♪ I wonder Mother Goose, ♪ ♪ how does your garden grow?

♪ ♪ How did the cow.

♪ ♪ He jumped over, ♪ ♪ he jumped over the moon.

♪ ♪