The Rise of the Wordless Picture Book
Led by moderator Allyn Johnston, v-p and publisher of Beach Lane Books, author-illustrators Henry Cole, Raúl Colón, Marla Frazee, Stephen Savage, and David Wiesner discussed the liberation that comes with purely visual storytelling — for both reader and illustrator.
Though we are currently seeing a rise in the sub-genre, wordless picture books such as Ruth Carroll’s What Whiskers (published in 1932) paved the way for today’s children’s book creators.
Kids just get wordless books in a way adults don’t. The expert eyes of children intensify their connection to the pictures and make them natural audiences for wordless books. (Publishers Weekly)
