Helpful tips for sharing wordless picture books

by Floris Books • 20 February 2026 • Children's Books, Steiner-Waldorf Education • 0 Comments

Wondering how to begin sharing wordless picture books with your little ones? We’ve got 6 top tips to help you get started!

1. Describe what you see

Describing the pictures encourages us to use language that is different from how we normally speak. This will introduce children to a rich variety of words.

Illustration from Whose Footprints Are These? by Gerda Muller

2. Point things out

Go slow! Take your time and point things out in the pictures. Pointing and labelling helps children to learn the meaning of new words. This will also help draw their attention to details in the illustrations they might otherwise miss.

Illustration from The Dog Walk by Sven Nordqvist

3. Go beyond the pictures

Ask children open ended questions about what might be happening and why. Be sure to give children plenty of time to think about their responses. When they reply, you could repeat what they say and add more information. For example, if a child points out a dog, describe the dog– “That’s right, there is a black and white dog. What do you think it’s looking at?”

Illustration from The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky by Jihyun Kim

4. Use story language

When you’re reading the story, try using simple words and phrases like ‘next’ and ‘then’. These linking words help children catch the idea of the flow of a story and begin to understand how to tell a story in order.

Illustration from The Polar Bear Day by Park Jihee

5. Play with the story

You don’t always have to tell the story in the same way! If there is more than one character in the book, why not tell the story from different perspectives? You can make up a different story every time.

Illustration from 630 Maple Street by Marta Kulesza

6. Take your time

Make sure to allow plenty of time for poring over illustrations, making predictions about what might happen next, talking about ideas, and getting to know the characters.