Throughout the winter and spring quarters of this year, I had the opportunity to work with CONNECT Researcher Dr. Christine Lee to observe Demonstration Teacher Kelly Peters’ EC2 class as they engaged with wordless books. Wordless books tell a story entirely through illustrations, with little to no written text. They rely on visual literacy and serve as powerful tools for storytelling, language development, and creativity. As I watched students develop narratives that were highly imaginative, richly detailed, and complex, I became curious about the storytelling autonomy and emotional connections students experience while reading wordless books. When the school year came to an end, Ms. Peters led an open and reflective class conversation on what it had been like to read wordless books throughout the year. Throughout the conversation, students expressed a strong sense of agency, creativity, and independence, emphasizing the freedom to interpret and tell the story in their own way.
I was struck by how students were able to articulate their thoughts, opinions, and feelings about wordless books and their responses perfectly echoed what I had observed all year- that emergent readers create, feel, and take ownership of stories through wordless books. One student shared, “If there’s no words, no one needs to help you. You could just do it by yourself, ’cause like when you do books with words, someone might need to help you because you don’t know the words. But with wordless books, you could just make up the words. You don’t have to read the correct words, there’s no words to read.” Wordless books provided EC2 students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the story as authors, characters, and narrators, without needing external support or direction. I was excited to see that students valued the independence and confidence they felt while reading wordless books at an early age, when reading can sometimes feel intimidating. Despite limited vocabulary or learning differences, young children can be introduced to the concept of reading, narrating, and storytelling through wordless books.
Students recognized their freedom to shape the narrative however they chose. During the conversation, another student shared, “I like how you have choices of what to read. You don’t have to read a specific sentence; you can read whatever you want.” Each book and each page had the potential to become anything the narrator imagined. Different stories could emerge from the same book. It wasn’t just about choosing a book; it was about choosing what the story would become. I was deeply impressed by the versatile ways students engaged with these books, each time offering a new narrative, with each reader bringing a unique perspective to the story.
When the class discussed their feelings while reading wordless books, one student said, “For the just-right books, kind of tired,” while describing wordless books as making them feel “curious because when I read a new wordless book, I want to know what goes next,” and even excited. Their curiosity was sparked by images that required interpretation rather than decoding text. It was particularly interesting to note that students associated text-heavy reading with fatigue, whereas wordless books were associated with engagement, enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. Many were drawn to the mystery and evolving narratives that wordless books offered, reinforcing their role as active, empowered readers. Students’ responses demonstrated not only a deep sense of independence and confidence but also an emotional connection to the process of reading and storytelling.
Ultimately, my observations of the EC2 classroom revealed that wordless books uniquely foster storytelling autonomy and emotional engagement among young readers. Without the constraints of written text, students exercised creative freedom, took ownership of narrative construction, and found personal meaning in the stories they created. I witnessed how wordless books empower children to become active participants in meaning-making, allowing them to imagine, interpret, and express in developmentally appropriate ways. As an aspiring elementary school educator, I’ve learned there is so much value in incorporating wordless books into early literacy practices, particularly as a means to support diverse learners and cultivate a love for reading grounded in agency and self-expression.
Victoria A. Daniels is a third-year UCLA student double majoring in Education and Social Transformation and Chicano/a Studies. As a CONNECT Research Intern working with Dr. Christine Lee, she explores how early childhood literacy practices can support students’ skills and identities as dynamic storytellers through wordless picture books. Her interests focus on fostering inclusive learning environments that cultivate curiosity, inquiry, and critical thinking skills in all children.
Questions about this blog post can be directed to Dr. Christine Lee (clee@labschool.ucla.edu).