The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

Puffin 9780723275534
A classic wordless book about a boy who makes a snowman which comes to life at
night. Their adventure together involves a flight through a snow-filled sky and the
dnouement is full of feeling. The film with its memorable accompanying music has
become a perennial Christmas favourite.

Clown by Quentin Blake

Red Fox 9780099493617
Readers will need to bring their understanding of narrative informed by the
conventions of comics to this story which has the cinematic quality of a silent film. The
clown is an unwanted toy which comes to life and, after trials and tribulations, finds a
happy home. The childrens literature tradition that only children are aware that a toy
is alive is maintained throughout.

Window by Jeannie Baker

Walker 9780744594867
A book which could provoke much discussion about the effects of humanity on the
environment. A view from the same window is seen over a period of twenty years, as a
newborn child grows to adulthood, showing the changes that take place. The collage
illustrations are almost tactile.

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

Walker 9781406305487
This companion volume to Window charts the changes in an urban neighbourhood by
viewing it through the same window frame as a baby grows to womanhood and has
her own child. Not entirely wordless as there many examples of environmental print.

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Walker 9781406309140
What links two families, one living in Sydney, Australia, the other in a village in
southern Morocco? Their lives are explored, side by side, in pictures which
follow the directionality of their respective written scripts, English and Arabic.
Jeannie Bakers realistic collage pictures portray seemingly starkly different
lifestyles but the design and layout of the book facilitate reflection on their
similarities. Close examination of the details reveals the Moroccan familys
engagement with modern technology and the Australian familys appreciation of
long established craft and culture while the specific connection between them is
made apparent.

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The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Walker 9781406332049
An almost wordless picture book, save for the haunting animal noises of the
savannah. Jerry Pinkney, an African American illustrator, has located the story
in Africa and this is especially apparent in the first endpaper illustration,
richly abundant with animal life including elephants, giraffes and zebras.
However, in the body of the book, the focus is firmly on the two protagonists.
The magnificently maned lion who spares the mouse who accidentally finds
his way into the big cats clutches. The larger than life mouse who leaps from
frame to frame and returns the favour by gnawing through the rope binding
the ensnared lion. The final endpaper depicts a family friendship between the
two species.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Hodder 9780340969939
This graphic novel tells many stories through expressive sepia illustrations which
depict a strange mix of the realistic and the surreal. A man travels to another country
leaving his wife and child behind. Why does he go? What is this country where he
finds it so hard to understand what is going on and to be understood? He gradually
finds ways to communicate and other people start to tell him their own stories. By not
making the settings identifiable places and by adding many surrealistic touches, Shaun
Tan allows this story to be simultaneously about a specific migrant and every migrant.
A unique book to be puzzled over, discussed and made the readers own.

Journey by Aaron Becker

Walker 9781406355345
A girl sits forlornly in a sepia world, ignored by her busy family. Spying a
spot of colour in the shape of a red crayon, she draws a door through which
she escapes to a green forest, illuminated by sparkling lights and blue lanterns,
threaded through with a stream which leads her to the next stage of her
journey, once she has drawn a red boat. She sails into the centre of a huge
castle and, from there, draws new forms of transport so that she can explore
this fantastic world. Then disaster she loses the red crayon. Will she be able
to return home or even continue her journey? The entire story is told through
pictures full of magical detail. The colour red stands for play, imagination and
doorways to enchantment. As the journey progresses, the colour mauve also
comes into its own... See http://vimeo.com/48536711 for a video about the
making of this book.

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Quest by Aaron Becker

Walker 9781406357660
In this sequel to Journey, Aaron Becker picks up the idea of the colours red and
mauve joining forces. The girl with the red crayon and the boy with the mauve
crayon enter a door into another world after a king hands them a rainbow map
before he is dragged away by soldiers, dropping an orange crayon in the mele.
The pair have been challenged to undertake a quest, one which will take them
over many terrains, encountering a multitude of dangers, before they reach the
rainbows end.

Freight Train by Donald Crews

Phoenix Yard 9781907912108
An exciting introduction to concepts about colour with a simple text and
memorable illustrations. A black steam engine pulls trucks of different
colours performing different functions along a track, moving faster and
faster until the colours begin to merge and blend.

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg

Andersen Press 9781849392792
The premise behind this unique book of pictures is that the fourteen drawings
within it were left with a publisher by a man named Harris Burdick who
subsequently disappeared. Each black and white drawing purports to be a single
illustration from a different story. Each one has a title and a brief caption but
otherwise the only clues to the context are in the pictures themselves, providing a
great stimulus for childrens own creative writing.

Topsy Turvy World by Atak

Flying Eye Books 9781909263048
A whole world of unlikely reversals, causing questioning about what is natural and
normal. Mice chase cats. A rabbit turns a gun on a hunter. A baby feeds its mother.
Firefighters turn hoses full of flames on a fountain while water floods from the
windows of a nearby house. A punk hands money to a suited gent begging on the
side of the street.

Red Sledge by Lita Judge

Andersen Press 9781849397933
A group of animals borrow a red sledge that a child has left propped up outside.
This becomes a bright spot of colour on the snowy slopes as they joy ride under
a moonlit sky. In the morning, the child (surely a cousin of Astrid Lindgrens
independent youngsters) is puzzled by the animal tracks in the snow ... The only
words are onomatopoeic sounds made by the movement of the sledge and the
animals whoops of excitement.

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Foxlys Feast by Owen Davey

Templar 9781848771321
A fox is searching for his next meal, signified on successive spreads by a speech
bubble enclosing a knife and fork. He appears to be contemplating various fish
and fowl but the ultimate feast may not be what readers expect. Owen Davey
makes very effective use of limited colour palettes here consisting of shades of
green, yellow, orange and brown.

The Chicken Thief by Batrice Rodriguez

Gecko Press 9781877467318
Bear and Hare are breakfasting outside their home when a fox leaps
out of the trees and runs away with one of their chickens.
Accompanied by Rooster, they set off in hot pursuit deeper and
deeper into the forest. But is the situation as it seems? The pictures
show the developing tenderness between the fox and the hen
resulting in a caring cross species relationship between the pair who
choose to live on a desert island.

The Treasure Thief by Batrice Rodriguez

Gecko Press 9781877467844
After waving farewell to Fox and Chicken, Bear, Hare and Rooster
make their way home from the island. Their boat is wrecked and
they are washed ashore. Rooster is first to revive and becomes
obsessed by a mysterious orb. The trio make their way through a
forest of glowing giant mushrooms and get carried across the water
by a cloud of bats. Arriving in their own neck of the woods, Rooster
discovers that the orb has unexpected contents.

The Fishing Trip by Batrice Rodriguez

Gecko Press 9781877579240
Fox and Chicken have a soon-to-hatch egg but the fridge is empty.
Chicken sets off on a fishing trip to bring home food and provide for
the family. She encounters many dangers from huge birds and sea
monsters. Bringing home her bounty, she has doubts about whether
she should have trusted her foxy companion...

Johnnys Bad Day by Edward Ardizzone

Jane Nissen Books 9781903252307
Johnny gets out of bed on the wrong side one day and we follow his exploits
involving a range of incidents and emotions. Each picture is a fine vignette in
Ardizzones characteristic crosshatched style, here employing green or pink on
alternate spreads in a beautifully designed small volume.

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Tuesday by David Wiesner

Andersen Press 9781849394475
Pigs might fly but on this particular Tuesday night its an army of frogs that fly
in formation on lily pads across a community, leaving puzzlement in their
wake. A great incentive to children to invent their own science fiction scenario.

Flotsam by David Wiesner

Andersen Press 9781849394499
An underwater camera is washed up on a beach and picked up by a boy who
takes care to examine things closely. He hastens to get the film inside
developed and learns about many unexpected wonders of the deep. However,
he is not the first to discover the amazing camera. Nor, it appears, will he be
the last. Surreal and superb.

Mr Wuffles! by David Wiesner

Andersen Press 9781783441167
Mr Wuffles the cat has found a new toy. What could it be? Its mysterious
appearance looks suspiciously like a flying saucer. And, sure enough, there
are little green men inside who, judging by the artwork on their walls, may
have had close encounters with his kind before.

The Lazy Friend by Ronan Badel

Gecko Press 9781927271414
Sloths have a well known reputation for being lazy and the character
at the centre of this wordless story is no exception. He clings on to his
branch, eyes closed, while all sorts of dangerous things go on around
him. Luckily he has some faithful friends to protect him.

More! by Peter Schssow

Gecko Press 9781877467554
Its an extremely windy day and a mans hat is blown away. As he gives
chase, he is swept into the sky and buffeted along over sea and land. What
are his emotions? Scared? Excited? And how will it all end?

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Out of the Blue by Alison Jay

Barefoot 9781782850427
A boy living in a lighthouse explores the yellow sands, crafting objects from
his beachcombing findings. Then one morning, after a wild stormy night, a
strange and enormous creature is washed up in the shore. Alison Jays
distinctive crackle-glazed oil paintings glow with vibrant colours and she
makes creative use of shapes to frame the details of her story.

The Birthday Cake Mystery by Th Tjong-Khing

Gecko Press 9781877579103
Many hours could be spent following through the mini scenarios on each of the
spreads in this book, exploring where they overlap and intersect and discovering
the many animal characters that populate each page. Theres the fellow doggedly
making a cake despite some incredible interruptions. And what are those red
footprints leading to a house stage right? Lots of mysteries to puzzle over!

Bluebird by Bob Staake

Andersen Press 9781783441853
A lonely boy, bullied by his peers, is taken under the wing of a bluebird who
becomes his constant companion. Set out in comic strip layout with stylised
round headed figures in a geometrically regular urban landscape, a melancholy
mood is created in blue, black and white and shades of grey. However, there is
warmth at the heart of the relationship between boy and bird and eventually
colour enters their world.

Flood by Alvaro F. Villa

Curious Fox 9781782021261
A story of human resilience in the face of environmental disaster. A family who
have put much effort into constructing and caring for their isolated house have
to flee in the face of a flood. But once the storm subsides, they return and rebuild
their home and their lives. A readers guide for this book can be downloaded
from http://www.curious-fox.com/products/flood-6/

Here I Am by Patti Kim and Sonia Snchez

Curious Fox 9781782022268 (published February 2015)
Based on the authors own experience of migrating from Korea to the USA. A young
boys experience of the initial alienation and confusion is eloquently expressed in
pictures placed on pages carefully designed in terms of layout and colour. Planting a
seed brought from his country leads to the nurturing of friendship and feeling at ease
with his identity in his new home.

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Before After by Anne-Margot Ramstein and Matthias Argui

Walker 9781406357936
A book full of beautiful images which evoke and extend ideas around the concept of
before and after. In most cases, the pictures are on opposite pages: a hive of bees on
the left, a jar of honey on the right; a rocking horse on the left, a rocking chair on the
right. At other times the linked ideas are on consecutive spreads. Two people are
separated by a chasm between two mountains. Turn the page and they have been
united by a bridge. Some sophisticated ideas that will encourage talk, presented in a
deceptively simple way.

Download more free booklists at

https://www.clpe.org.uk/page/52

For an extensive range of teaching resources which

put great books at the heart of your literacy
curriculum, read about the Power of Reading project
here

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