Wordless picture books

Like instrumental music, wordless picture books actually tell you more than you think.

Two wordless picture books by Suzy Lee, The Wave and The Shadow - Photo: Kim Dong Publishing House

In those books, the power to predict, think, and tell stories rests with the reader; each person has their own story when "reading" the book.

Two wordless picture books by Korean artist Suzy Lee, "The Wave" and "The Shadow" (selected as the New York Times' best illustrated children's books in 2008 and 2010), have just been introduced to Vietnamese readers by Kim Dong Publishing House.

The wondrous world of imagination

The artwork "Wave" takes us to a vast beach with the playful antics of a little girl and the cool, blue waves.

In Shadow, we witness an intriguing story unfolding in a dark room, where the real world and the imaginary world intertwine, creating a captivating "chase."

These two works are part of Suzy Lee's trilogy, *The Boundaries*. The author utilizes the spine—the physical "boundary" between adjacent pages—to tell stories about how different worlds meet and merge, about the boundaries of imagination and reality, between limitations and freedom, between what we see and what moves us.

During the book launch in Hanoi , surprisingly, readers had very different interpretations of the story in the book. Each person had their own unique story in their mind as they "read" these wordless illustrated pages.

This is how wordless picture books appeal to young readers and are becoming increasingly popular.

Through storytelling entirely in images, wordless picture books open up a magical world of imagination. From there, each book will offer countless different ways of feeling, understanding, and telling the story – there is no single correct answer.

Readers can become co-authors.

According to Kim Dong Publishing House, author Suzy Lee is a master of creating wordless picture books by using simple yet incredibly vivid and energetic charcoal drawings along with strong contrasting colors.

Suzy Lee's books have no introductions; instead, she leaves the prediction, thinking, and storytelling to the young readers—the imaginative "authors"—to unleash their creativity.

Children's book curator Pham Thi Hoai Anh said that Suzy Lee told her that many of her readers had become co-authors. The children added their own words to Suzy Lee's illustrations and introduced the book with their own words and Suzy Lee's illustrations.

The female artist has received many such works from children. This makes her extremely happy, as her artwork has been given so many new lives.

Thanks to their non-verbal nature, Suzy Lee's picture books are not limited by story content or cultural and language barriers, and have captivated readers in many countries around the world.

Artist Suzy Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea. She graduated with a degree in fine arts from Seoul National University and received a master's degree in art books from Camberwell College of Art in England. Her work has been published and exhibited worldwide. She currently lives in Singapore.

In 2008, The Wave won the Illustrators Association Gold Medal at the American Art Exhibition. The Wave and the Shadow was also selected as the New York Times' best illustrated children's book in 2008 and 2010.

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BIRD OF HEAVEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-cuon-sach-tranh-khong-loi-202511200849578.htm