(Mostly) Wordless

by Jed Alexander

As its title suggests, (Mostly) Wordless is a mostly wordless all-ages book filled with stories, short vignettes and character sketches told with either no, or few words.

The book begins with the wordless mini-epic, "Ella and The Pirates," an enchanting tale about a little girl and her imaginary adventures as a pirate as she sails through perilous waters, has sword fights and discovers buried treasure. This continually surprising and engaging book rewards repeat readings, with something new to discover on every page. For young readers and non-readers alike!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Graphic Novels

48 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2013

About the author

Jed Alexander is an author and illustrator who has done work for a variety of publications, including Cricket Magazine and SpongeBob Comics. He's the author of three critically acclaimed wordless picture books, Red, and Gold and Olive. His recent release is the Middle Grade Novel, The Black Market. He lives in Davis California with his wife and best friend in the world, Regina.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eight very short stories for all ages, though the author says he uses his daughter as a model for the drawings, so it's mainly for children. And it is mostly about his elegant and spare drawings, blank backgrounds that highlight the lively child figures. The central, longer text is "Ella and the Pirates," which was fun and playful and invites interpretation. Others might be just four panel-(less) figures, such as Ella's transformation into a witch, or portraits of her as a dancer. I got it cheap on Comixology, just to see this guy's early work. I would like to see more from him. The drawing is good, and I would like to see a series of longer pieces like the Pirates one.

Two stars might seem to indicate I didn't really like it or was meh about it, but that's not exactly true. I think there is a lot of promise here, but on the other hand there's not that much here, either. I like it just fine!

[Michael Levis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Working in early childhood literacy, our focus is not always on getting the children to read stories word-for-word. We encourage and engage young minds in using their own words to describe what is going on in the pictures and to do their own storytelling. For many of the younger children in the 3-5 year old age range I work with, this makes the activity of sitting and sharing stories less cumbersome because they don't have a long narrative to follow. Books like (Mostly) Wordless cut down on anxiety in children that stems from not knowing the right words and encourages more imaginative storytelling in children who might normally be put off.

As unlikely as it may seem, (Mostly) Wordless by Jed Alexander helps young children develop observational storytelling skills that assist them while they develop their language skills. Taking turns "reading" the book's short stories to each other in small groups is a great literacy activity, but something is lost when you try to read (Mostly) Wordless in larger groups of children.

I recommend this book as a useful tool in engaging young children in storytelling, especially in small groups (2-3 children and 1 teacher/parent).

[Wendryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both Katja (my 2.5 year old) and I really enjoy this book. The pictures are beautifully done and sometimes quirky, the book is engaging, and it gets requested almost every night.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mostly wordless book with eight short stories for children. Each story shows children's imagination in picture form. Stories include pirates, a dancer, ball fun, a witch, and more. The pictures are fun, colorful, and quirky.

[Lauren White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could be used for prediction, writing prompts and more!!

[Ame · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those quick reads, or glances rather, which provides peaceful enjoyment. Sometimes it is nice to pick up a book and just ponder the pictures.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is true....hardly any words. The artwork more than makes up for this fact!

[Keyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was adorable!! If you have children you must pick this one up!!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute but not a lot of substance for me.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

QUICK read, sparse words (if any), my favorite in this collection of stories was the first one. It reminded me of Where The Wild Things Are.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet book that I can see getting lots of young children make positive book associations.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say it's a good book for young children. Most of the stories are very short, but I liked the first story about the pirates.

[Sarah Fairbairn · Rating 3 out of 5]

8 story shorts over 56 pages, very little wording, with the stories being told through the beautiful illustrations.
Stories of sailing adventures with buried treasure and pirates. Rainy day mishaps, adorable dogs, dancing ballerinas, big bouncy balls and athletic mice.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute collection of "mostly" wordless tales. Most of them involved Ella, a cute little girl who has quite imaginative adventures. Great illustrations and could be fun to inspire writing and storytelling. I did really enjoy the details in the water sketches, worth a read with your little ones to see where their imagination goes.

[sucker4synth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book without many words. The illustrations are reminiscent of old school comics, like Little Nemo. There isn't a lot happening in all these stories, however, and some just seem like a string of pictures. There are some flaws in faces that just don't look right, especially in the ballerina story. Overall a nice book, just not completely polished.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of potential for writing lessons

[rogue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

The first story, full of possibilities and the passage of time between each scene, is a standout. I wish the others were more like this.