EC2
During my Winter quarter, I had the opportunity to observe and participate in research on the importance of wordless picture books with Dr. Christine Lee at CONNECT and Demonstration Teachers Arlen Nava and Kelly Peters. Before this experience, I had never heard of wordless books, but I quickly learned that they rely entirely on illustrations to tell a story. Without words, these books create an open-ended storytelling experience that encourages kids to use their imagination and language skills to make sense of what they see.
Through this collaboration, I came to realize how wordless picture books not only spark creativity but also play a significant role in developing language skills in young children. These books give kids the freedom to create their own stories, allowing them to use their own imagination to come up with their own characters and settings, expressing themselves in ways that feel completely unique to them. When it comes to language development, wordless books push children to expand their vocabulary in both English and Spanish because they are being tasked with describing what’s happening in the pictures, making up dialogue, and figuring out how to connect the events. But language is not just about words; it’s also about sounds, the gestures they use, and the facial expressions that help them bring their story to life.
I observed this firsthand on a rainy day when I sat with a group of EC2 students as they read the wordless picture book Home by Jeannie Baker. As I listened, I noticed how the rainy weather that day influenced the way the children engaged with the story. What really struck me was how their focus shifted based on their surroundings. Wordless books often contain detailed illustrations with many characters, and it is completely up to the child to decide what to engage with. On this rainy day, one moment caught my attention. There was a scene that appeared to take place at sunset, showing a girl jumping on the sidewalk. One of the boys pointed at the girl and said she was jumping in a puddle. This observation felt so fitting because the class had just been outside playing in the rain, splashing in puddles themselves.
This moment made me realize how deeply children’s storytelling is connected to their lived experiences. They weren’t just interpreting images on a page; they were incorporating their own reality into the story. It made me wonder: What would their version of the story sound like on a sunny day? Would the same girl still be jumping in a puddle, or would she be doing something completely different?
A week later, on a bright and sunny afternoon, I sat down with the same students, as they read Home again. This time, the mood was noticeably lighter. Their storytelling took on a more playful tone, with vivid details about a birthday party and moments of laughter. While the core narrative remained the same across both times they read Home (to them, the book was about a girl growing up and watching the world through a window), their descriptions of the illustrations shifted. They skipped over the girl who was jumping in the puddle altogether this time around, and instead, they pointed out elements like the bright blue sky and eating ice cream. Unlike the rainy day, the sunny weather seemed to draw out a sense of excitement and optimism in their storytelling.
As I observed this shift, I couldn’t help but feel amazed by how deeply connected children are to their surroundings. The change in weather didn’t just affect their moods, but it transformed the way they experienced and told their story. This made me realize that learning to be a “reader” is about making connections between images, emotions, and the world around us. These boys were not just reading Home but they were living it, actively reshaping it, and making it their own. And isn’t that the essence of storytelling? Not just to consume a story but to step into it, breathe life into it, and make it something entirely new and meaningful.
Mariana Gudino is a junior at UCLA majoring in Education & Social Transformation and minoring in Spanish. She is an aspiring educator passionate about building stronger school-community ties and researching ways to better support immigrant students and marginalized youth. She joined as a CONNECT Research Intern under Dr. Christine Lee’s supervision in Winter 2025.
Questions about this blog post can be directed to Dr. Christine Lee (clee@labschool.ucla.edu).