Wordless picture book

I have written a wordless picture book:)

It actually sounds kind of funny to say that. How does a person write without words? At a recent children’s publishing conference I heard the question asked. “I am not an illustrator but I have an idea for a wordless picture book. How do I submit a manuscript for a wordless picture book?” I only put that in there because it makes me smile.

My first book UnBrella is a wordless picture book. You can bet that I have asked myself how this book is going to be used, and I have spent time worrying about it. But, the other day I had an interesting experience. My son was reading a book to me. I noticed that words were not his first priority. He would turn the page and spend several seconds looking at the pictures and laugh at the story that the illustrations were telling. Then he would take a deep breath, blink his eyes and then look for the words. It was nice to see him enjoying the ride instead of being in a hurry to get to the end. He is just learning to read and the pictures gave the story context for him.