stories without words

"Bear, Staffan Gnosspelius's debut book, is a gorgeous visual meditation on depression. In this deeply affecting, wordless picture book for adults, a bear is maddeningly afflicted with a cone that covers his head and that he is unable to take off. He furiously stomps and yells and tears at the cone, he implores the skies and fate for relief, he is drawn to dark and wild and scary places. The depths of his sadness feel like a defeat. It's a battle he wages until he's mentally and physically exhausted. Then, one day, Bear hears notes of music, the humming of a friendly hare. The hare hovers nearby, concerned, sometimes driven away by Bear's frustration and anger, more often staying close and gently offering support. The author began drawing a bear with a cone on his head as a way to make sense of how a person close to him was suffering from mental illness. The resulting book is both an emotional gut punch and a warm embrace, recognizable immediately to anyone who has ever suffered or loved someone who has suffered in similar dark places. In other words, all of us"--.

"In this wordless time-travel adventure, three children at a Passover seder visit ancient Egypt to help baby Moses find his way safely to Pharaoh's daughter. When a family settles at the table for Passover, their dog nabs the afikomen bag (containing matzah used for the seder) and dives under the tablecloth. The children follow him and find themselves transported to ancient Egypt. There, they see baby Moses' mother and sister Miriam placing him in a reed basket. The baby's journey down the Nile is hazardous--he encounters several obstacles along the way, including a wily crocodile. Thanks to the three children, he reaches his destination unharmed, with a piece of afikomen tucked into his basket. The children return to the seder table and, exhausted, fall asleep. But what are their parents to make of the grains of sand in the afikomen bag? Includes an author's note about the meaning of the Passover holiday and about different afikomen traditions."--.

In this wordless picture book, a deaf boy who is new to the neighborhood finds a way to connect with the girl next door, a Muslim child who speaks Arabic, despite their language barriers.

"[A wordless story in which] a child walks to a store in town and then visits a sick friend"--Amazon.

"[A story without words which] tells how two friends build a clubhouse"--Amazon.

"One day a little fish gets plucked from his ocean home by a curious boy. But the fish isn't little for long. Soon he is too big for the fishbowl, too big even for the bathtub. What will happen when the boy tries to return his pet to the sea? This wordless graphic novel brings the story to life with nowords at all"--Provided by publisher.

"[A story without words in which] at home in his igloo, Freddy's quiet morning gets interrupted when a tennis ball crashes through the window. A tennis ball?! Who would dream of playing tennis in an icy wilderness? Freddy's penguin friends that's who"--Back cover.

"Anthony begins his day at home with nothing but his colored pencils to keep him company. Soon an animal visitor arrives and then so does another one. Then more and more and more. What will happen when Mom sees the wildlife in the house?"--Back cover.

"When Gretel and Hansel carelessly abandon their wood-gathering chores and follow a fox deeper into the woods, they come across a delicious-looking house, the home of a friendly witch. Hungry after thoughtlessly feeding their picnic lunch to the wildlife, the two children start to devour the candy shingles, shutters and walls until the house begins to crack and crumble. Despite her initial shock, the witch is caring to the strangers and invites them in. But when they overstep the boundaries of her hospitality and start eating everything inside as well, it's time for Gretel and Hansel to get their just desserts!"--Provided by publisher.

A boy cherishes an overgrown piece of land where he befriends an imagined elephant formed by the trees, but when builders arrive to clear the space, he must devise a plan to save his cherished friend.