Wordless Picture Book: A Ball for Daisy
Title of book: A
Ball for Daisy
Author/
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Publisher: Penguin
Random House LLC.
ISBN: 978-0553537239
I always
wondered, how does a wordless picture book develop reading skills in a child? I
did some research and have concluded that the “pictures” tell the story to the
reader. I had Noah read with me today. Our selection? A Ball for Daisy.
It's funny, because our versions of the story were not exactly alike, Noah has
a flare for story telling that will cause many laughs and giggles. One key
point I noticed was that although our words used in the story telling differed,
the problem and solution in the story did in fact match. So my 7 year old and I
both were able to deduce the whole story based on pictures alone.
Amazing!
In A Ball for
Daisy, I was able to easily follow the story-line in the book. I see Daisy
playing with a red ball in front of what I assume is her owner. I see pictures
of Daisy bouncing the ball, throwing the ball, chasing the ball, and conclude
that Daisy really loves playing with her red ball. This is again inferred when
after getting sleepy, Daisy cuddles next to her ball for a nap. Her owner
decides to take Daisy for a walk; Daisy wants to bring the ball with her. They
go for their walk and Daisy gets to play with her ball again, until it gets
stuck behind a fence. Her owner is able to retrieve it so Daisy can continue
playing. Some dogs come to play with Daisy and her ball and the ball is
accidentally popped. Daisy becomes really sad that her ball has popped and
deflated. I recommend you read this book to find out what happens to poor
Daisy.
The book, A
Ball for Daisy, gets 4 out of 4 stars from me. The book is truly precious
and this is reflected in the fact that Raschka earned The Caldecott Award for
best pictures. The pictures illustrated in the book totally reflect what is
going on in the story. The story is super easy to follow based on Daisy’s
facial expressions, movements, etc. These are so clearly shown to make me and
any reader be able to infer what is happening in the story.
Hi Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering how wordless picture books can be good for a child and I realized that the pictures influence there imagination and creativity so they are able to create there own story based off of what they see! it's truly neat to hear what they come up with because sometimes they think of things that us adults wouldn't even think of! I love that as your going through this class your involving your son in this process because he is also learning and growing!
Daisy reminds me of my little pup who is two (Enzo) he has this big bright red ball and absolutely loves to play with it! he bounces it, he catches it when I throw it and he chases it all around the house! needless to say it's his favorite! he even shares it with his buddies at the dog park! He tries to take it outside when we go on a walk, but I don't allow him to bring it. I couldn't imagine his reaction if his red ball were to pop! (I would probably buy him two more! because of it! so I could only imagine what the owner did!) This book absolutely seems precious and judging by the cover the illustrations must be so vibrant and filled with endless detail!
Great post!
Aliyah G.