A Ball for Daisy

Title: A Ball for Daisy
Author: Chris Raschka
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Press
Release date: May 10, 2011

Ever since I read and reviewed Octopus Soup a few weeks ago, I have fallen in love with wordless picture books.  It's not because I dislike words; as a writing major, words are some of my favorite things.  But I love the fact that wordless picture books reach beyond individual languages and create a universal story.

Today at Barnes and Noble, I read A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka with a four-year-old Korean boy.  He probably knew less that a hundred words of English, and I can't even say "hello" in Korean.  But he could answer my question, "What is the dog doing?" by rattling off in his own tongue and throwing English words in here and there: "dog," "ball," "blue," "sad," "happy."  The experience was so incredible to me in that we could both read a story and giggle together while knowing so little about each other's world.

A Ball for Daisy tells the story of a little dog that has a red ball until she shares it and her friend accidentally pops it.  At first she's sad, but then her friend brings her a new blue ball to replace what she broke. 

The comic-book-style illustrations speak of the value of friendship and the importance of making amends, whether you meant to hurt someone or not.  I recommend this story for toddlers through early readers.  A Ball for Daisy will allow your children to play with language and write creatively before they can decipher the combination of letters that spell words and express thought. 

What do you love best about wordless picture books?