Book picks similar to
The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen


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wordless
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wordless-picture-books

The Girl and the Bicycle


Mark Pett - 2014
    She hurries home to see if she has enough money in her piggy bank, but when she comes up short, she knocks on the doors of her neighbors, hoping to do their yardwork. They all turn her away except for a kindly old woman.The woman and the girl work through the seasons, side by side. They form a tender friendship. When the weather warms, the girl finally has enough money for the bicycle. She runs back to the store, but the bicycle is gone! What happens next shows the reward of hard work and the true meaning of generosity.Wordless, timeless, and classic, The Girl and the Bicycle carries a message of selflessness and sweet surprises and makes an ideal gift for graduations and other special occasions.

The Only Child


Guojing - 2015
    USA Today  declared it “a compelling and melancholy debut from an important new talent" as well as "an expansive and ageless book full of wonder, sadness, and wild bursts of imagination.” And like Shaun Tan's The Arrival and Raymond Briggs's The Snowman, it is quickly becoming a modern classic.   A little girl—lost and alone—follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But... home and family are very far away. How will she get back there?   In this magnificently illustrated—and wordless—masterpiece, debut artist Guojing brilliantly captures the rich and deeply-felt emotional life of a child, filled with loneliness and longing as well as love and joy.

Wonder Bear


Tao Nyeu - 2008
    On his head is a top hat, a hat that allows him to work all kinds of magic that day. He pulls monkey after monkey from the hat, blows bubbles in amazing shapes, and transforms flowers into spectacular floating sea creatures. This is a wordless book with bright, bold illustrations.

South


Patrick McDonnell - 2008
    This is a wordless and profoundly moving story--by the creator of the beloved comic strip Mutts--that explores being lost and found, crossing boundaries, saying goodbye, and broadening horizons.

The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep


Mircea Catusanu - 2009
    . . hey, where?d all the sheep go?? In a place called Happy Valley, there live ten sheep. Every night, the ten sheep are counted into their beds by one Super Sheep Dog named Doug. But one day, the sheep are missing! Who could have stolen them? Might it be Wolf, who lives in the Dark Forest? And for what nefarious purpose? Does he want to knit them into a blanket? Bake them into a pie? Or maybe he wants to . . . count them?With kooky, creative illustrations and an unexpected ending that will get kids giggling, this is a lively story about the fun of counting .. . and a bedtime surprise.

Bee & Me


Alison Jay - 2016
    This beautiful picture book makes the story personal and brings a message of hope. A little girl befriends a bee, which takes her on a journey of discovery and to an action each child can take to aid in conservation. Alison Jay’s original artwork brings the story gently to life, pointing out the sadness of a world without bees.

Ice


Arthur Geisert - 2009
    Arthur Geisert's ingenuity engages the child's imagination as well as the adult's through seamless storytelling and zany wit. Invested as always in his porcine universe, here Geisert tells the story of a community of pigs that is suffering from the heat. Rather than be sapped of energy and miserable, they go on an adventure in search of ice. The pigs' inventiveness and great can-do spirit create a joyful tale of change and adventure. The illustrations bring the action to life, making this a real page-turner and a great read-aloud book!Arthur Geisert's pigs are legendary in the world of children's books. They carve ice sculptures, teach Roman numerals, create ingenious machines and get up to all kinds of antics. Did Arthur grow up on a farm? No. He grew up in Los Angeles and claims not to have seen a pig until he was an adult. Trained as a sculptor in college, Geisert learned to etch at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Geisert has published just about a book a year for the past thirty years, and every one of his books has been illustrated with etchings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and the Horn Book Magazine, and he has won The New York Times' Best Illustrated Award. A resident of Galena, a community in northwest Illinois, for decades, he now lives in a converted bank building in Bernard, Iowa.

Dude!


Aaron Reynolds - 2018
    They want to go surfing but dude, there's this shark who's in the ocean, too.But don't worry. This shark approaches and you'll never guess what happens.

Uni the Unicorn


Amy Krouse Rosenthal - 2014
    Somewhere there must be a smart, strong, wonderful, magical little girl waiting to be best friends. In fact, far away (but not too far), a real little girl believes there is a unicorn waiting for her. This refreshing and sweet story of friendship reminds believers and nonbelievers alike that sometimes wishes really can come true.

Do You Want to Be My Friend?


Eric Carle - 1971
    Using his brilliant collage technique, Mr. Carle creates a world both childlike and touching in its poignant simplicity.

A Friend for Mole


Nancy Armo - 2016
    One is afraid of the light, the other is afraid of the dark. Together they learn that friends are all they need to conquer their fears.Nancy Armo's humorous story, with adorable illustrations, explores fear and friendship to show how opposites can complement, strengthen, and support each other.

Beaver Is Lost


Elisha Cooper - 2010
    Follow Beaver as he's chased by a dog, visits a zoo, and even finds himself in the middle of a busy city street.In the vein of beloved classics like Flotsam and Good Night, Gorilla, this book is the perfect gift for future graphic novel enthusiasts. With luminous pencil-and-watercolor illustrations by an artist whose work the New York Times has called "simple and quiet and essentially perfect," Beaver Is Lost is sure to delight animal lovers everywhere.

Goodnight Already!


Jory John - 2014
    He's exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear's persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear.Jory John, author of All My Friends Are Dead, and Benji Davies join together to create this standout hilarious picture book that will make bedtime memorable.

Little Beauty


Anthony Browne - 2008
    He appears to have everything he needs, but one day he signs that he is sad and needs a friend. His keepers bring him a tiny cat called Beauty and the two of them become inseparable.

Magpie Magic: A Tale of Colorful Mischief


April Wilson - 1999
    What follows is a delightfully magical tale of art run amok as each newly drawn object becomes real, and fair game for the antics of the mischievous bird. Colorful chaos ensues as the resourceful bird takes pencil in beak and begins to reveal its own artistic talents. The beautifully detailed pictures invite children to observe carefully and tell the story themselves as the mesmerizing plot leads them to an astounding surprise ending. Along the way younger children will be introduced to the concept of color (eight are featured), older ones will discover the fascinating interplay between art and imagination, and all will be inspired to reach for their own drawing pencils.