“Writing” the Wordless Picture Book
When you tell people that you’ve written a wordless picture book, you get funny looks.
“Wordless? As in no words?”
“I thought only author-illustrators could do those.”
“How do you even do that?”
The seeds for AFIKOMEN were planted in 2013, when I was at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, enrolled in the Picture Book Intensive semester. One of our assignments was to write a wordless picture book. Oooo-kay….
Luckily, we had Shutta Crum’s newly published article in the March/April 2013 issue of the SCBWI bulletin, Writing the Wordless, or Almost Wordless, Picture Book to refer to. In it she describes her process for writing her nearly wordless picture book, Mine!, which was published in 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf.
The assignment came right around Passover, and shortly after an essay assignment in which I explored the use of portals in picture books. (Think Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, JiHyeon Lee’s Door, or just about anything by Barbara Lehman.) I also have a moderate obsession with time travel, so I came up with the idea of children at a Passover seder who, with the help of a magical piece of afikomen*, find themselves in ancient Egypt. They arrive at the banks of the Nile just as baby Moses’s mother and sister place him in a basket and send him down the river to save him from Pharoah’s decree that all male Jewish babies be killed. This idea eventually became the wordless picture book Afikomen, illustrated by the talented Yaara Eshet, published by Groundwood Books in March 2023.
The first step was, of course, to develop the story, i.e. the plot. I knew I wanted the children to interact with, and become part of, the biblical story about Moses depicted in Exodus. (There is a concept in Judaism that on Passover we are supposed to feel as if it is we ourselves who escaped slavery in Egypt, not just our ancestors.) I decided the children would arrive just as baby Moses in his basket was being placed into the Nile, where, according to the biblical narrative, he would float downstream until discovered by Pharoah’s daughter, who would go on to adopt him and raise him to adulthood. I wanted to include, in traditional picture book form, three obstacles to the basket’s safe passage, obstacles the children would need to overcome (agency!) to make sure baby Moses made it to his destination, thus making them an integral part of their own history.
It was the easiest manuscript I’ve ever written. No need to find that perfect word, or worry about strong verbs or alliteration, or agonize about word count when you are simply describing a story you visualize in your mind. It was akin, I imagine, to writing an action scene in a movie. (Not that I’ve ever done that!) Here’s a section of the manuscript so you can get the idea:
Pages 4-5
An extended family is in their dining room, at their Passover seder, three siblings dressed in holiday outfits.
Pages 6-7
The seder leader holds up the afikomen, breaks it in two, and places one piece in the special afikomen bag, and leaves it on the table. The youngest child sneaks up and “steals” it.
Pages 8-9
The family dog grabs it out of the youngest child’s hand, and dashes under the table. The children follow, running under the tablecloth…
Pages 10-11
… and tumble out the other side through tent flaps, into biblical Egypt. They are now wearing appropriate clothing for the time period and weather.
(An aside about pagination: This is the only manuscript I’ve ever submitted with page numbers. My agent suggested it, hoping that it would help an editor who might be less familiar with wordless picture books to envision the book.)
Now’s a good time to talk about leaving room for the illustrator. We all—writers and illustrators—know how important that is, right? When I’m writing a worded PB manuscript, I’m careful to include only essential illustration notes, ones that can’t be gleaned from the text. For example, if my text says, “Tiger prowled through the garden,” and Tiger is a kitten, I need to clarify that. But I don’t need to clarify what that kitten looks like unless it is important to the story later on. In my manuscript for Afikomen, I adhered to the same principle, indicating only essential illustration notes. For example, I submitted the manuscript with the following editorial note at the top of the page:
[Ed. Note] This wordless picture book follows the Passover night adventure of three children. The children are siblings, and can be any age or gender, though the youngest is at least three years old. The people at the seder table can consist of various family members and friends of different ages and backgrounds. The manuscript describes the plot and should be read like stage directions. The illustrations would convey and elaborate upon the following:
You can see that I specified that there would be three children (one for each obstacle) and that the youngest be at least three, because the children would be walking quite a distance in the story. I also wanted to make sure that the seder guests reflected the wonderful diversity of the Jewish community. Here’s a glimpse of Yaara’s interpretation of some of the text I included above:
Magical, isn’t it?
I was very grateful that my editor involved me in the book’s creation from start to finish, though at arms’ length—I didn’t have any direct contact with Yaara until after the book was published. I was sent thumbnail sketches early on, and as the final art developed I was able to suggest changes that I felt would help the illustrations be the most authentic to my story vision. It was an extraordinary experience.
Why not try it? Whether it be a wordless or nearly wordless story, or a few wordless spreads in a picture book text, whether you are a writer or an illustrator, why not experiment with telling a story in pictures?
*Afikomen – A piece broken off from a matzah during the early part of the Passover Seder and put aside to be eaten at the end of the meal. In many Jewish Passover traditions, the afikomen is hidden during the early parts of the seder to be searched for later, as a way to keep young children awake throughout the long evening.
Tziporah Cohen has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an MD from Harvard Medical School. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade novel, NO VACANCY (Groundwood Books), and the picture books ON THE CORNER OF CHOCOLATE AVENUE: HOW MILTON HERSHEY BROUGHT MILK CHOCOLATE TO AMERICA (Clarion Books), CITY BEET (Sleeping Bear Press) and AFIKOMEN (Groundwood Books). She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and family. Find out more at http://www.tziporahcohen.com.
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323 Responses
So interesting! Thanks for sharing the story behind the story. Mazel tov.
Tumbling from under the tablecloth through tent flaps on the other side! Pure magic and just what the seder ‘orders!’ Can’t wait to turn the pages of this delightful book.
Thank you
Wow, this was fascinating! Thanks for sharing your experience writing a wordless picture book. And congratulations on its publication!
HOW BRAVE! Great job!
Wonderful story behind the story of this beautiful book! You’ve inspired me to try a wordless picture book!
Thank you, Tziporah, for the challenge of writing a picture book without words. I would love to try this. Also thank you for the information about Passover and about pagination.
Your post reminded me of the wordless trilogy written by Aaron Becker – “Journey”, “Quest” and “Return” and how much my grandsons loved telling the story in their own words. Another book written with a minimal amount of verbiage is “If You Plant a Seed” by Kadir Nelson.
I look forward to reading “Afikomen” and your other books.
Wow, this was such an awesome post. I loved reading about your process. Congratulations to you. I do not know that I could do this, but it sounds like a wonderful challenge!
Thank you Tziporah Cohen for outlining the process you used to write Aflkomen. “Why not try it?” I like the challenge to experiment writing a wordless picture book.
You mentioned Shutta Crum, and I recall reading her nearly wordless Mine!
The illustrations are lovely.
What a creative and fun idea!
Thanks for these tips on how to write a wordless picture book!
This is such a marvelous description of how to write a wordless book!!! I think I may try it! Congratulations Tziporah and thank you!
I learned so much by reading what Tziporah said in her post. Wordless picture books, in general, are amazing and her story in particular is fantastic.
Thanks for the motivating words!
Dear Tziporah,
Extraordinary idea of blending the present and the past in the life of three siblings in such a magical way. I am glad that you have a “moderate obsession with time travel” although your name Tziporah might have helped flying from this century to another one, such a long time ago.
I can just imagine the readers following the characters under the table to a totally unexpected place. A complete surprise not only for us but also for the three children with a little help from the dog.
Thank you so much for the post, taking me through a journey without words. It must have been a real challenge for Yaara. I feel so inspired to experiment with a wordless Picture Book as I am always fighting with excess words. I am sure that in my next Seder, beside the Haggadah, I will be thinking about your book.
Looking forward to reading all your creations.
What an intriguing post! I have wondered how an author writes a wordless picture book… And now I better understand the process. Thank you for sharing your time and talent. I wish you all the best in this new year!!!
Great post. Thank you. You’ve given me a lot to ponder!
Love reading about your process! Excited to read AFIKOMEN! Mazal tov!
Thank you for sharing. This is awesome. Good job.
Thank you for this post and the idea of creating a wordless or almost wordless book. I was able to learn more from researching Shutta Crum. Many resources with her.
I love the idea of playing around with writing a wordless picture book.
Thank you for explaining the steps you used to write the wordless book. I teach Kindergarten and always wondered how they were created.
I always loved books like these as a kid. Congratulations on your many successes!
Thanks Tziporah for inspiring me to start writing a wordless picture book.
Tziporah, your post was truly fascinating. It felt like a mini tutorial and it was so helpful to see a few of the illustrations that resulted from your written directions. It is an approach I never would have thought to attempt. Equally one, I am uncertain I could achieve, but your book AFIKOMEN looks delightful. Congratulations on being so imaginative and innovative.
Thank you for this inspiring and insightful post, Tziporah! And congratulations on your successes.
I am just like the people you mentioned in the opening of your article – I had no idea an author could write a wordless PB without also illustrating it! That’s fascinating! I celebrate Passover with my children and can’t wait to share this book! It sounds wonderful 🙂
Very interesting! As the author of a pictureless book, you describe the scene. Thank you for sharing your story and all these mighty fine details.
I love learning about your process here! I always wondered how writing a wordless picture book might work for an author who is not an illustrator. Thanks for giving us a sneak peak!
Thanks for sharing about the process of creating a wordless picture book. I’ve never attempted it, but it sounds fun, kind of like very extensive art notes. Congrats on AFIKOMEN!
Facinating. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing and walking us through some of your process. Congratulations on accepting and succeeding at the challenge!
This is one of my favorite Bible stories! I can’t wait see and “mind read” ‘AFIKOMEN’, your wordless picture book. I love the tips on how to write one. I’m inspired to create a wordless book from some of my stories I have written in my files. Thank you for sharing,
CHEERS!
What a dream, to have an illustrator bring one’s words to life! Thanks for the inspiration and tips.
Afikomen is beautiful! Thank you for sharing your process for writing a wordless picture book and for referencing Shutta Crum! I went down the rabbit hole and found many resources to quench my curiosity. Happily inspired :).
Thank you for explaining in such clear detail how writing a wordless picture book works. I’m going to pin this to my bulletin board so that I can let the ideas start to percolate whenever I see it 🙂
I’ve always been fascinated by wordless picture books and how they can be so captivating. Thanks for sharing your journey, and now I’m inspired to try it myself.
For me, it’s a difficult concept
This is so fascinating! I would never even dream of trying a wordless picture book! Congrats for pulling it off so beautifully. Can’t wait to “read”(?) the book! 🙂
This has inspired me to write a “wordless” picture book too. I love how you moved so seamlessly from the present to the past by having the children go under a tablecloth and come out into a tent thousands of years ago. This was very inspiring.
Wow! Thank you so much for this post and for sharing specific pages, Tziporah! As someone who works in television, I often think visually, but I’m not an illustrator. I’ve wondered how to incorporate wordless pages. You’ve given me so many ideas and I love your book!
Thank you for that informative post. I have never written or considered a wordless book but it will be something that I look into.
I just finished reading your book and it is absolutely beautiful. I loved the time travel aspect and the dog leading that scene. The illustrations are just wonderful. All the emotion and action depicted wordlessly, fantastic work Tziporah and Yaara.
This was a very inspiring and informative book, written in a way to engage children of all ages. Your description of the process of writing a “wordless” picture book was helpful for picture book writers. Thank you for sharing this information.
This is such an interesting approach to a picture book. I can see how it might work well with a couple of book ideas I have. You’ve inspired me. Thank you!
This was inspiring! I have been taking a class on writing graphic novel scripts and it strikes me that writing a wordless picture books is similar. I love that yours began with thinking about portals.
Thank you for sharing this journey! I’ve never considered authoring a “wordless” picture book but I love the idea and the challenge.
I loving seeing the thought behind your story, and the illustrations are fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing!
It’s fascinating to read the “behind the scenes” of a wordless picture book– I am an illustrator and its still kind of baffling!
Thank you for a great post!
Ready for Passover now!!
Very inspirational. I love learning about your process in writing wordless picture books. The illustrator did a great job with your notes. I loved how they gave her room to add her interpretation of the story.
Thanks Tziporah for inspiring me to work on a wordless picture book!
I had never considered doing a wordless picture book as a writer only. I love the concept and descriptive nature of the process. I think it’s magical how words or ideas become tangible in the illustrator’s hand. Thanks for sharing!
A fascinating and brilliant way to weave past and present. Plus provides interaction and engagement for the reader that can’t sit through many words, but enjoys pictures. Going to request it from my library. Thank you so much for your explaination about pagination.
You made it easy to understand. Thanks for sharing and best wishes!
Thank you for sharing your writing life with us! Afikomen is magical. 🙂
Thank you Tziporah for your inspiring story. This is so helpful and thought provoking on many levels. Great job!
I loved wordless books as a kid and was always puzzled when people didn’t know what I was talking about. I didn’t realize though that you can write one without illustrating it. That’s great to hear!
Some of my favorite picture books are wordless picture books. Thank you for sharing!
Amazing! I had no idea that a non-illustrator could write a wordless PB! What a great challenge!
Thank you for sharing your process. I have to say, I remember many adventures I would take under our dining room as a young child. Thank you for holding back the curtain on a very happy time in my life.
Love this! I love the content and your info is so helpful. I attempted an almost wordless PB many years ago and submitted it to an agent who was kind enough to respond because I know it was terrible! I love your story. Thank you for sharing.
Wow! This is so very cool! I love how the children go under the tablecloth and end up in Egypt! Very clever! And thanks for the details about writing a “wordless” book! Congratulations!
Thanks for a great post! Yes, Shutta is a master- enjoyed learning about your process!
This article will be a great reference for an oft-asked question! As an illustrator I appreciate your reminder not to overly art-direct as the artist will add lots of detail to the story if she has the freedom to invent and expand.
Thank you for walking us through the wordless picture book with lovely examples and illustrations. I especially appreciated the samples of the text that you used to convey your ideas, page by page. Congratulations on a beautiful book.
Fascinating post, Tziporah! Thanks for sharing your story behind the story, and insights into writing a wordless book (which I greatly enjoyed “reading”).
I loved reading this. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the encouragement to write a wordless picture book! After reading this post, I’m excited to try! Thank you!
I’ve been working on a nearly wordless picture book and reading this gave me some insight and will help for my revisions. i enjoyed reading your post-look froward to reading the book. Thank you.
I’ve been working on a nearly wordless picture book and reading this gave me some insight and will help for my revisions. I enjoyed reading your post-look forward to reading the book. Thank you.
Thanks Tziporah for inspiring me with your lovely book! I felt moved by your bibical narrative. Well done!
I loved hearing about your process and now I plan to try writing a wordless PB. Thank you!
Tziporah, this is fascinating! I had never even contemplated writing a wordless picture book. Thank you for sharing the process you went though. I can’t wait to “read” your book!
I honestly had no idea we could do this! Very inspiring, thank you 🙂
This is so interesting! I always wondered how this process works for the author. And a bonus for me reading your post today, Tziporah – I actually just read this portion of the Biblical account yesterday, so seeing your take on it was so timely!
How wonderful! Thank you for sharing your story.
That is so interesting! I’m going to give it a try!
I didn’t know that an author who is not an illustrator could write a wordless picture book. I loved learning about your process. Thank you!
This is so interesting! I do wonder how an author does book events or readings with a wordless picture book? (I can definitely understand how wordless books work great for one-on-one reading, but I would be interested to hear how it goes in groups!) This is all fascinating, and I appreciate you sharing your “story behind this story” with us! It looks like a beautiful book.
I love your unique approach to this book! Amazing. Thank you for sharing this and for clarifying how to write art notes and editorial notes. Very helpful!
Inspiring!
Great post! I considered wordless book off limits because of my appalling art skills. You gave us something to think about!
Wow – this is interesting! While I don’t write wordless PBs, I do write some where the illustrations are the joke, so this is helpful.
I have drafted a nearly-wordless picture book and greatly appreciate your guidance. I was unsure how to approach putting the theme into words but your suggestion of writing as an action scene has given me direction. Thank you!
Such an interesting read. Thank you so much!
Wow, I’m so inspired by your post! I might try to “write” a wordless book as part of the 12×12 challenge. Thank you for your insights.
Thank you so much for sharing your process! I appreciate the examples and am motivated to give it a try!
I love wordless picture books and it is great to hear about how you wrote Afrikomen
Thank you for sharing your ideas and process. I would not have known that wordless picture books were an option for a non-illustrator. I love when a new door of possibilities opens!
Thank you for sharing your experience with writing wordless picture books. Your time travel element is delightful! I especially enjoyed how the children’s clothing changed to the time period. Wordless picture books are a treat, inviting endless conversations with a child with each page turn. Congratulations!
I wish I’d thought of this! Great ideas, and fun to hear your process. What’s next? A magic pomegranate?
Really enjoyed this. It was interesting, entertaining — and educational! I had never heard of Afikomen. (Also took me back to my own childhood and sneaking under the dining room table during parties.) Food for thought. Thank you.
What a magical book!
I’m not an illustrator but I love wordless picture books. “A picture tells 1,000 words,” as the saying goes.
Lovely to hear about your work!
I love wordless picture books! “A picture tells a thousand words,” as they say.
What a magical story!
Such a creative idea. I’m going to use your book in my Sunday School class this Passover. I think I’ll divide the class into thirds and have each group act out a scene.
What a fascinating story about your wordless story book. Is there any back matter that describes Passover, a seder, or the afikomen? I”m looking forward to “reading” this book!
This is great! And very informative. I knew an author could write a wordless picture book, but I wasn’t sure how that would look. Thank you for walking us through it. I’m now very excited to try it myself!
Thank you for sharing. You provided much food for thought! Very creative and the illustrations are beautiful.
Unbelievable! What a beautful piece of art- and the story does not need words.
Wonderful description of the process of writing a wordless picture book. Appreciated the insight and enjoyed reading about how the illustrator and writer worked together.
Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed learning more about a wordless picture book.
I found your process and story fascinating. To describe the process in terms of stage direction really helped me visualize actually doing this myself. I love how your book turned out. It is stunning and so very special.
Hi TZiporah! I went to VCFA, as well! I wasn’t able to do the pb semester, but I am enjoying 12×12! I love this book – so creative!
What a work of art, here. The best part is no words are needed.
I’ve always wanted to write a wordless picture book. Thank you so much for sharing your process. Now I feel brave enough to try!
I adore writing wordless manuscripts! Sadly, I’m not a talented illustrator, so I find these stories to market to others (I’m not agented). I’m going to keep writing them, though, because it’s so fun to convey a story without words!
I will consider a wordless picture book now! What great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing your process. It was fascinating to learn about.
What a cool book. And it really hammers home the idea that you need to leave room for the illustrator, even when there IS text. Thanks for this great post!
This was such a fantastic post! I’d often wondered whether I could try a wordless picture book (since I DO NOT illustrate my own picture book manuscripts!). Maybe I will try something new! Thanks!
I have never considered “writing” a wordless picture book until now. I really appreciate the very specific examples you provided regarding editor and illustration notes. Thanks so much. I wish you the best.
This was fascinating! I too did not know a “mere author” could conceive a wordless picture book! And I like the idea of the challenge of writing scenes purely visually… this really opens up new options for me!
I find wordless picture books absolutely fascinating! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! What an interesting post. What a feat you have accomplished, the book sounds delightful. Thanks for sharing your process.
I love how you compared writing a wordless picture book to writing an action scene in a movie because it reminds me of something similar and that I am familiar with: writing a commercial. Your upfront description and scene descriptions took me back to a few scripts I’ve written that had no dialogue and maybe a line of voiceover at the end. I kind of want to do an exercise where I write scene descriptions before writing the story despite the fact that the descriptions won’t be present. I wonder if that process would allow me to imagine the story in a new way…especially on manuscripts I’m a little stuck on!
Really interesting. I haven’t learned about no word picture books before.
This was so inspiring. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing! Very inspiring. I truly appreciated your example!
I love wordless picture books! The portal in yours is so clever!
Thanks for sharing your experience in creating a wordless picture book! I loved hearing about your process and seeing a few of the illustrations that came from it.
I always love hearing about the story behind the story. Thank you.
So good! Such great info and inspirational. I’ve been wanting to write a wordless PB and now I have the tools! I’m in TO too, maybe I’ll see you around Mabel’s Fables 🙂
Wordless picture books are always favorites of mine. Thank you for sharing this fascinating process. It’s really beautiful!
Wow! After reading Tziporah’s post I am emboldened to try writing a wordless picture book. I also had a previous notion that only author-illustrators could do that.
I LOVE wordless picture books! And am collaborating on one right now! What perfect timing this post was. Thanks for sharing!
Love this! Thank you for sharing
Thanks for giving us something to think about. The excerpt was helpful.
Thanks for sharing the backstory to your beautiful book! This is a wonderful way to bring children into the story. I look forward to reading!
Tziporah, thanks so much for detailing your wordless picture book process. It’s wonderful that you had some involvement in the artwork. Greetings from Vermont. You are lucky that you had the chance to go to Vermont College. Enjoy your continuing journey.
I love the idea of a wordless picture book! My children have several, and they are even more fun as they get older!
So fascinating! Thank you for sharing the process! I’ll have to challenge myself to a wordless book one day.
Very cool! My dad was the youngest of his siblings growing up, so he has memories of feeling very important as a kid because he was asked to keep the afikomen “safe” until later in the evening. Thanks for the write up!
So creative – as someone who considers themselves strictly an author and not an illustrator, this opens more doors for me creatively that I didn’t even realize were there. Well done!
Thanks so much for sharing these details on how you were able to communicate your vision for this story with limited art notes. Mazel Tov! Looking forward to seeing the whole book and your other work too.
Fascinating peek into the making of Afikomen. Thank you for all the details.
So that’s how a wordless picture book gets ‘written.’
And congratulations on your story AFIKOMEN>
Wow! This is brilliant. Thank you for your insight.
Such a great concept! I love that the wordless book can also inspire discussion and wonder. Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s so helpful!
I love the idea of portals too! And having the Moses Story and the Passover education together was both interesting and informative. The colorful illustrations also enhanced the magic of the story. Thank you also for explaining how to develop the manuscript for a pictureless story. I have always wondered how you would do that if you were not the illustrator.
Thank you, Tziporah, for sharing your adventure. I LOVED that the portal for the children’s time travel was under the table – such a wonderland for the imagination! What a fun challenge, this assignment that became a book. Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing this approach, Tziporah! You have motivated me to try to use it to lead me “backwards” into my sentences and paragraphs. I traditionally have let the words come first. This time, I’ll start with images and see where they lead me.
I honestly would never have thought of trying to write a “script” for a wordless picture book. It’s an interesting challenge that I will have to try. Thanks for sharing a bit of your journey.
I often wondered how wordless picture books are written and the inspiration behind them. Thank for the inside and behind the scenes of writing a wordless picture book. I also learned some thing new-‘afikomen’. As my family celebrates Sedar. The illustrations are incredible and beautiful.
Loved hearing about your process for this story! So interesting, thank you.
Thank you for sharing your process. What a great writing exercise, even if you are not writing a wordless picture book.
I love wordless picture books. I will have to try writing one since I am an artist as well. Thank you!
Wow the process behind this is so unique! I’ve never really thought of the making of wordless picture books from the writer’s pov. This was very insightful and I appreciate you sharing your experience!
Wow! Every impressive how you were able to convey a complicated story through just stage directions. I love the idea of matching each child to a challenge. Thank you!
I absolutely loved reading about your process in writing this wordless picture book! Sometimes I have the best reading sessions with my own son when I don’t read the words on the page and he just tells me about the pictures. I feel like your wordless book has even more potential to engage young readers (and their imaginations and empathy) than many more traditional books do. Well done!
Thank you so for sharing your writing process – it is fascinating to me that you can write wordless picture book and not be the illustrator, too! It is important for each of us to learn about religions other than our own (or learn more about our own). Time travel stories (falling back in time, specifically) are some of my favorites because I love historical fiction. For many years I have had a character in my mind waiting for me to write her story, and it involves walking through a portal into the 1700s at Mount Vernon. I started the manuscript, but never got very far – I am going to find the document and try to start working on it again.
Your book is beautiful! Since I’m not an illustrator, I never thought about the process of “writing” a wordless picture book. Thank you for the inspiration.
Wow! My books are always wordy, so this is really inspiring, and to know that there is definitely a craft behind it. I am very impressed by AFIKOMEN. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you sharing the process of writing a wordless book while leaving room for the illustrator. I loved the idea of using tablecloth as a portkey.
Thank you Tziporah for the enlightening post! As a new writer it was very encouraging !
Thank you for sharing! This is so inspiring!
Wow! Never thought of this. Thanks for an enlightening post 🙂
So interesting! I’ve always thought writing a wordless picture book seemed so overwhelming, but you broke down the process so well. Thank you!
So insightful to be taken on this journey through creating wordless picture books with you. Thank you , I am beyond inspired!
Wow! Tziporah thank you so much for sharing your process. I have always wondered if it was possible to pitch a wordless book if I wasn’t attached as an illustrator….you answered the question that has been burning a hole in my brain for years. Plus I was so super excited and intrigued to follow your journey because I have been to Egypt and for the last year I have read almost 20 books about ancient Egypt in preparation to write a picture book for 12×12 about a baby mummy. Thanks again for sharing your story and I wish you the greatest success for “AFIKOMEN” and all your creative visions. Keep Shining!
Wonderful post and I really appreciate the MS example and the encouragement to try it. Thank you.
Thank you for the terrific explanation of how to write a wordless pb. Wordless books are wonderful, because they are universal. No language needed. Groundwood a terrific publisher! Best wishes and good success with your book! Congratulations!
I agree with all the posts about how nicely you’ve broken down the idea of wordless picture books for writers. Thank you for all these insights!
Really interesting perspective and an interesting exercise to try. Thank you and great job!
Thank you so much for explaining the process that was so helpful. One of my kids’ favorite childhood books was Carl’s Masquerade which is wordless and it leaves so much to the imagination. Congrats on your book!
This is lovely – a beautiful experience of how to say so much without saying anything at all.
I’ve read wordless picture books before and always wondered where they came from. Thanks for sharing your story!
This was so helpful- thank you for sharing!
I never thought about maybe trying to do a wordless picture book before but I literally see the scenes in my head and maybe I will try to tackle it and see if I can come up with something. Thank you for sharing this information.
Really lovely, simple approach to what can be a complicated process. Great point about pagination – I could see that being especially helpful for a wordless manuscript!
This is amazing, Tziporah. Yes, magical. Like you, I was under the impression that I couldn’t do a wordless since I’m not an illustrator. You’ve given inspiration and hope. Thanks! Congrats to you.
This is a beautiful and memorable story. Thank you for sharing the process.
Thank you for the tips on writing a wordless book – I always wondered what the manuscript might look like!
I am also considering writing a picture-only or mostly-pictures book. Thanks for sharing how your book came about. This was helpful.
I never really understood the concept of wordless picture books. I have learned a lot! Thanks
As a teacher I use wordless picture books in the classroom for so many things. They are wonderful to support students with the elements of story, retellings, and the creation of dialogue. Many of my wordless picture books have post-it notes where students have added dialogue for the characters. An engaging and powerful learning experience for them!
What a beautiful story – the ultimate representation in writing spare. Thank you for sharing your process, and best wishes!
Thank you for this great post. You don’t read too much about how to do a wordless PB, so this was much appreciated. I have written one and based on your feedback will review to be more concise and less descriptive leaving room for the illo. Congratulations on the book!
Wow! All the details. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
This was a very inspiring post for trying to write this type of picture book. Thanks for sharing this story with us!
Thanks for giving us a view into setting up a wordless book!
Excellent reminders on the Rule of 3 and how illustration notes should only be the “essentials” and leave lots of room for the illustrator! Thank you! and Brava!
Thanks for sharing your process!
I liked the history and traditions behind the Passover celebration.
You shared lots of good reminders, Tziporah. Thanks for kicking off the new year. I’m late in reading but happy I got caught up!
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this behind-the-scenes look into writing a wordless picture book. Congratulations!!
What a blessing to beable to tell your story with text and illustrations. Thank you for sharing.
Great story idea, and I am SO impressed that you told it wordlessly. Thanks for the advice, and congrats on the publication!
Such an interesting and inspiring peek into creating wordless picture books. Thank you for sharing, Tziporah!
Thanks for sharing your journey, and congratulations!
When I read the words “wordless picture book,” I thought to myself, “how is that possible?” Of course, I’ve read “Where the Wild Things Are” and other similar books, but I guess it never clicked. The mind can do amazing things, even fill in the words that are not there, leaving you remembering the story as if the written words were. And what a testament to the writer and illustrator that the reader failed to notice the omission of the written language in the pages of the book. After reading the reflections and journey of Ms. Cohen, I am personally excited! I love trying new things and can’t wait to use one of my 12X12 monthly challenges to give this a go. I also look forward to enjoying her latest edition to the literary world library. Thank you, Ms. Cohen. We appreciate you and the work you’ve done.
You have inspired me to attempt a wordless picture book. I love the idea of viewing the story as stage directions. Congratulations to you.
What a wonderful insight into wordless picture books. This is such an art. Thank you for sharing your process, Tziporah!
Thank you for sharing your process – I appreciated the details on your illustration notes. Inspiring!
Fascinating! Thank you for explaining how you wrote a wordless picture book.
This is awesome! I always wondered how authors “write” wordless picture books when they aren’t also the illustrator! Thanks for shedding a light on your process!
This is awesome! I always wondered how authors “write” wordless picture books when they aren’t also the illustrator! Thanks for shedding a light on your process!
As a visual, slightly artistic author-only PB creator, I am so grateful for all your detailed guidance in this post. I’ve been “drafting” a nearly-wordless picture book, and this is hugely helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for letting us know your process in writing a wordless picture book. This was something I never knew.
Plus a reminder of keeping illustrator notes to a minimum if you are writing a word PB.
I am arriving late to this very long list of replies to your featured author piece here, Tziporah. I am grateful to the posters of these interesting comments. I, too, was reminded of Aaron Becker’s books: “Journey”, “Quest” and “Return.” I appreciate learning that people are to experience Passover as though they were the ones who escaped slavery in Egypt. I love how you integrated the actions of the three young protagonists with the Bible story. Thank you for the inspiration! I am off to research Shutta Crum’s SCBWI article and “Mine.”
Thanks so much for sharing. You’ve definitely expanded my concepts of what a picture book might look like.
Very cool concept! Thank you for not only sharing how the submission was constructed, but the cultural insight and creative process as well.
Excellent post! I’m sure you’ve inspired many of us to try a wordless PB, Tziporah. Agents and editors will wonder why the sudden influx of them in their inboxes. lol
Awesome info/post! Thank you. Congrats!
This is a fascinating example because it seems like a complicated story to depict wordlessly, but the illustrations manage it!
I have always been curious about the writing process behind wordless picture books. Thank you for sharing your insight with us!
What a great read! Clear and informative with information that is useful for both wordless picture books and worded picture books! Thank you!
Thank you for this post!
“Why not try it?” I like the challenge to experiment writing a wordless picture book. I will look for Shutta Crum’s article!
Thank you for letting us in on your story’s developmental journey. You answered so many questions I had about how to write a wordless picture book.
Wow! I never knew an author only (not an illustrator) could write a wordless picture book (or spread). Thanks! I appreciate your concrete examples and explanations. Really! I am so grateful!
It’s such a fun idea to write a wordless picture book as a writer. It does sound absurd in theory, but I think it’s a great exercise to do even if you’re not writing a wordless picture book. I think it would help get to the heart of the story and create the structure to then add upon later.
Thank you for sharing your journey and all the helpful details about including page numbers and limiting illustration notes to minimal and necessary details. And, just seeing the example of your words for your word-less submission was very useful.
Thank you for sharing your expertise. Keep creating!
Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments. And good luck with your next manuscript!
I love wordless books! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us.
So fascinating, thanks for your insight. Mazal tov!
Tziporah, thank you for sharing beautiful pictures which indeed speak a million words! Evocative images, surfaced memories I’d long forgotten about family seders, searching out my grandfather’s hiding places for the coveted afikomen. I’ve never considered creating a wordless pb–but yours is an inspiration. I have many (I mean many) nieces and nephews whom I’m eager to share this with.
Thank you for sharing beautiful pictures which indeed speak a million words! Evocative images, surfaced memories I’d long forgotten about family seders, searching out my grandfather’s hiding places for the coveted afikomen. I’ve never considered creating a wordless pb–but yours is an inspiration. I have many (I mean many) nieces and nephews whom I’m eager to share this with.
Thanks for sharing this interesting peek into wordless picture books!
I loved this look behind the scenes! Definitely want to try this.
I love how you wrote about them coming out from under the table cloth through tent flaps and into another time! Thanks for sharing!
This was so interesting to read. I’ve never even considered writing a wordless manuscript. Wow!! Thank you for sharing.
This was so interesting to read. I’ve never even considered writing a wordless manuscript. Wow!!
Once a librarian suggested a wordless book when I went with my toddler for music classes.
I am very sure this book will be received very well.
I love the endless possibilities the caregivers/parent readers can use a wordless book.
Your post gave me an inspiration to illustrate my wordless book as I am an aspiring author/illustrator.
Thank you so much for this wonderful backstory.
And congrats and all the best !
I read your post with interest as I’m in the process of writing a PB that contains a wordless spread – a bit like a comic – in the final scene. Your comments on how (not) to give picture directions was also helpful.
I really enjoyed reading the journey of this wordless picture book. I am looking forward to reading it knowing what went into its creation.
Fantastic post!
I like how you’ve shown the the type of illo notes you’ve provided the illustrator with: the action and the cast and left the rest for the illustrator’s imagination and creativity. I definitely would also love to give a “wordless” picture book once a go. Thanks for sharing, Tziporah!
Thank you for sharing your story within a story. I love to hear how ideas come forward and then brought to life.
Thank you for sharing. I’m excited to read your other books too.
I love Yaara Eshet’s use of frames and your interpretation of the story – especially adding in the obstacles.
I had no idea non-illustrators could write a wordless book. Very inspiring!
Thank you for this terrific post! I never even thought about “writing” a wordless picture book. Thank you for sharing your story and insights.
A great post. Thank you for sharing your process, Tziporah.
This was great! Totally makes me want to write a wordless PB.
I love wordless picture books starting with Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman. You are part of a great tradition and congrats on your wonderful book!
Thanks, I like your story and your process for getting there. It takes a while.
I am not very familiar with wordless picture books, so this was a very imformative post. Beautiful work!
Thank you for sharing! Very helpful information.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience! I’ve been thinking about wordless picture books a lot lately, (I absolutely love them) and wasn’t sure how to go about writing one though I desperately want to! Now I know what I’ll be working on this weekend. 🙂
This is an amazing post, Tziporah. Thank you for sharing your wordless pb process. I’m looking forward to reading both AFIKOMEN and CITY BEET. Hopefully my library has copies. If not, I’ll request that they purchase them.
Thanks for sharing your process!
I love the idea for this story. Mazel tov! I know it will be a huge success!
What an informative post! Thank you!
I honestly had never thought about writing a wordless picture book. I am inspired to do so!
I will refer back to this post to review your tips on how to write this type of book.
Very informative! I am also an illustrator, but it was interesting to read the modus operandi of someone who doesn’t draw.
It’s never occurred to me to try this — but I love how it’s story-driven instead of word-driven. Might be an incredible creative exercise!
Thank you for this post. I have had a few ideas about a wordless story but dismissed them because I am not an illustrator. You have given some structure to the creation of one for an author! Grateful.
Thank you for this fascinating look at writing a wordless picture book. Yours is gorgeous!
I always wondered how to write a wordless book. Thank you Tziporah.
I loved your wordless picture book! The plot is so creative and beautifully illustrated. Thank you Tziporah for sharing.
I have written a wordless PB – wordless because the main character is being ignored – so she has no voice. I may go back to it and see if it can be improved in any way. I am going to look for all of your books – they look delicious! Thanks for the post.
Sooo inspiring! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks for sharing these interesting details about how your story developed!
What an inspirational remembrance about developing a magical story! And I love thinking about how/if I might “direct” a wordless PB some day!
This was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how a wordless picture book is developed. I particularly like the comparison to theatrical stage directing. Thank you!
I had wondered how one “writes” a wordless book. So interesting! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Very interesting concept! Creative idea that I never thought of for author and illustrator expansion.
Thank you for your blog.
I always wondered how a wordless picture book came about. Thank you for the in depth information and example.
Thank you for a clear explanation of your process.
I have so many formats of books I wanted to play with. I had never even considered wordless picture books. Until now. Thanks for sharing!
What a surprise to learn that an author can create a wordless picture book. Thank you for going through the process. It’s a beautiful book and the post is so helpful.
Fascinating process, thanks!
Great tips. Thank you! You are right, the illustrations are magical.
This is so interesting! I never thought I would be “allowed” as a writer to create a textless book. But what a concept. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and tips for all of us to maybe try in the future.
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much for sharing such a great experience!
Thank for the inspiration and for sharing your process. I may have to challenge myself to try my hand at a wordless picture book.
Thank you for sharing your process. Congratulations on a beautiful picture book!
I have always been very intrigued by wordless picture books and this description of your process is so helpful!! I really appreciate you sharing your experience.
Good day! Thank you ever so much for your post. This is my very first check-in.
An informative article about a topic I know little about. Thank you.
A very interesting “fly on the wall” sneak peek into a beautifully crafted historical story.
Thanks for sharing your process! I remember students enjoying Aaron Becker’s wordless picture books (Journey, Quest, and Return) when I was a library media specialist.
Fabulous look into an often mysterious process!
This is an inspiring article. I never thought that anyone could write a wordless picture book except for an illustrator. I learned a lot from this experience and I think it would be interesting to explore the creation of a wordless picture book. Thank you for showing us how to “write” a wordless picture book!
This is an inspiring article. I never thought that anyone could write a wordless picture book except for an illustrator. I learned a lot from this experience and I think it would be interesting to explore the creation of a wordless picture book. Thank-you for sharing your experience!
This is an inspiring article. I had always thought one would have to know how to draw to submit a “wordless” picture book. Tziporah Cohen’s article makes me want to create a “wordless” picture book! Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
This was so wonderful to read. For personal reasons, I’ve never considered writing a wordless or primarily wordless picture book, but this article has me reconsidering. Thank you!
One of my families favorite books was a wordless book. Great to hear about the background of “writing”, Very Neat
Thank you for sharing and congratulations !
That’s super cool! Glad you included the pagination directions-makes it clear how to tell what’s going on. Congratulations!
I had no idea how an author would submit a wordless picture book, but I have an entire wordless story in my head! This is so helpful! Thank you!
This would be wonderful to use in a classroom of any age.
Thanks for sharing about your process writing a wordless picture book! I love a good Passover story!
Thank you for this intro into the mysterious world of wordless PBs!
Tziporah thank you for sharing your creative process. I look forward to reading Afikomen. The time travel concept is magic. Congratulations
Wow, Tziporah! Thank you so much for this! Since I can’t draw, I never would’ve thought I could write a wordless picture book! But I did write a manuscript that is close, and I wonder if I took out all of my words and put in illustrator notes…
How wonderful that your idea came to life!
I’ll share your book with my friend who runs a private school in Omaha.
Congrats and thanks again!
As an author-only, I would not have thought to attempt a wordless PB…but now I think it would be, at the very least, a very worthwhile exercise! Thank you for writing, Tziporah!
I’m so glad to see an article on this! It’s an issue I’ve come across but have never seen address. Thank you for your insight and congratulations on your books! I’ve put all four in my queue at the LAPL. Can’t wait to read them. And please reach out if you’d like reviews. I’m happy to oblige.
It was lovely to get a step-by-step look at this process. Thank you.
Thank for sharing how to write a wordless picture book. It was very inspiring.
The excerpt from your book is especially helpful in thinking through how to explain a full-page, wordless spread. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing some of the process behind the creation of your book. It’s very helpful!
How intriguing! And what a beautiful story. I’ve never imagined writing a pictureless picture book. Now I want to give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing your insight!
Thanks for sharing your process for writing a wordless picture book. It’s interesting to see it from an author’s approach instead of an author/illustrator.
I also thought only authors/illustrators could create wordless picture books. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Tziporah for sharing the steps you took to create the wordless PB. I was (and still am) very intimidated by the idea, but less so now and it does sounds like a good way to approach a PB from a dramatically different angle!
Matt
Congratulations on your book and thanks for the peek behind-the-scenes. 🙂
This was wonderful to read. Thank you for sharing your step-by-step process with us! Very excited to share your beautiful story with my children.
Thank you so much for describing HOW to format a wordless PB! I wrote a nearly wordless PB and my critique groups were skeptical about how it was presented. I shelved it, but now I think I can revise it and include the opening editorial note and page numbers for clarity. Yay!
So interesting! Many thanks for sharing how this book came together.
This is really interesting. It is making me think about illustrations for my “worded” PB’s in a new way. Thank you!
Soooo Interesting! Your skill at conveying so much through stage directions is awe-inspiring! Thank you for sharing your process.
Thank you, Tziporah! How wonderful to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the making of a wordless picture book! And your portal idea with the tablecloth and tent was genius!
I love your tablecloth segue! Thank you for sharing your journey.
Such a fantastic process to share. Something maybe to try on one of the challenges this year!
Thank you for this post! I love wordless picture books, and found so many uses for them in my classroom. They are especially valuable with English language learners. I always thought that you would need to be an accomplished artist to do a wordless book. I loved getting a glimpse into your process, demonstrating how the story development can serve as the foundation upon which the artwork is built. This was great! Thank you again!
The tablecloth to tent transition! Thank you for including that illustration in this post! That’s exactly the magic I craved as a little girl.
Loved reading about the process of your wordless picture book!
Thank you for this post, Tziporah. I think it sounds very fun to “write” a wordless picture book. I think I have an idea that would work well. Your books look and sound wonderful.
Thank you for sharing your process! I was fascinated by Shutta Crum’s story of her (almost) wordless picture book publication journey at an SCBWI conference too. Congrats!
Thanks, for sharing this post, Tziporah!
Hello Tzipora!
As a 12×12 member I was so happy to learn of your book. Growing up in North Jersey I had many Jewish friends and attended a number of Sedar dinners – I love that you had the children stumble into a biblical story. You’ve also inspired me to create the wordless picture book that has been on my heart for over a year, so thank you!
Hope to see you around 12×12 soon!
Thank you, Tziporah, for a template on how an author can create a wordless picture book. Your journey from idea to published book is fascinating!
Fascinating to hear about your writing journey on this wordless picture book. It sounds like a wonderful concept and looks beautiful. I look forward to reading.
Enjoyed learning about your process, Tziporah! Thank you for sharing.
Really interesting, thanks Tziporah!
This is a lovely book. I’ve wanted to write and/or illustrate a wordless book for some time. Thank you for sharing your process, Tziporah!
What a beautiful book! Your comparison to writing an action sequence in a movie is intriguing.
I thought of Tziporah’s article while I was watching the Super Bowl. I thought of how the annual Super Bowl beer commercials with the Clydesdale horses are great examples of how to tell a short emotional 30 or 60 second emotional story without words. Year after year the commercials tell such great touching stories with just images. If you Google “Clydesdales Super Bowl commercials” and plug in an added year you can find examples. And as an exercise then try on your own to write the list of scenes down. One very special commercial years ago paid tribute to 9/11…For that Google “How the Clydesdales trained to honor 9/11 victims for the 2002 Super Bowl”. I had to re-read this article after the Super Bowl. Again, thank you so much Tziporah for sharing this because I always over write when it comes to trying to write picture books or screenplays. This is a great example of showing how “Less is More”. Wishing you great success with this wonderful book and all your future stories.
Thank you for sharing your process with us. Happy to learn more about the Seder dinner and how the Afikomen works. I’m totally inspired to try writing my own wordless picture book now!