Best Wordless Books Authors: Mercer Mayer

This series of six books is simple enough for even preschoolers to appreciate. But I admit, I still smile when I read these tiny books.

The main characters are a boy, his frog, and his dog. (A second frog and plenty of jealousy enter the mix in One Frog Too Many.) The boy is constantly playing outdoors, getting muddy, and exploring the woods. In Frog Goes to Dinner, the frog causes a rowdy ruckus at a fancy restaurant.

Mercer Mayer injects plenty of humor into each book. And there is plenty of sentiment too. The boy truly loves his frog. 

The books are arranged in the order they are designed to be read, but you can enjoy any book alone and in any sequence.

A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog is Mayer's first book. It was published in 1967 and is often credited as being one of the first among the wordless picture book genre.

Despite being simple books, the wordless picture books featured here are great for 

• bedtime reading
• independent "reading" for pre-readers
• writing prompts for older elementary children
• speaking prompts for students learning English as a second language or working on language delays
• practice writing dialogue
• practice with grammatical features (For example, "find all the verbs on this page.")
• simple introduction to the elements of fiction -- setting, plot, theme, character, point of view

The two books featured above both revolve around a classic chase theme. 

In Octopus Soup, an octopus is caught from the sea and taken to the surface where he must evade the people of the city, including a walrus chef who wants to cook him!

In The Great Cat Chase, two children seek to catch a sneaky cat. Their chase creates plenty of humor and surprises.