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“There’s something intimidating about wordless picture books at first…

When my first daughter was born, some family friends gave us a beautiful wordless picture book that I put away on the shelf, thinking, ‘no, I can’t read this, I don’t know what to do, it’s too complicated.’

But wordless picture books can be so rich… even though it can feel like pressure at first, it’s actually NO pressure, because you can do whatever you want with a wordless picture book, and you are free to let your child lead whatever way the story or pictures take them.”

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Megan Lingo of Chickadee Lit and KidArt Lit last week.

With a professional background as both an Educational Therapist and a reading teacher, and as the mother of three young children, Megan is a wealth of information when it comes to early literacy.

We focused our conversation (which is featured in full on the corresponding podcast episode, Wordless Picture Books) on the reading of wordless picture books, the riches they can bring to families, and Megan’s five wonderful tips (a veritable “wordless picture book tool kit”) for getting started.

Since wordless picture books are simply a series of images, they can not only bring out your imagination when read, but also when we consider making them ourselves! 

Megan gave a few wonderful examples of some of her favorite existing books, and I’ve included two of mine below, as well. But I want to encourage you to also consider making your own!

I invite you to download my DIY wordless picture book, “FLIGHT,” which I created in honor of my toddler’s love of planes and airports.

Don't Miss our Corresponding Podcast Episode!

Here, in short form, is Megan’s “wordless picture book tool kit,” but I really encourage you to listen to the full episode (or at least read the transcript!) of our discussion. We had a great discussion, full of insights. So, let these be an inspiration to you as you read and create your wordless picture books at home!

  1. Take A Picture Walk
    • Flip through the pages, look at what your little one notices and what they find interesting and important
    • Get out of their way!
    • Build engagement and interest before you start reading
  2. Think Aloud For Your Child
    • Use “stem” questions to get started
      • When I see this, I wonder about…”
      • I wonder what’s going to happen next…
    • Show them that you wonder and you have questions
    • Don’t be afraid to model confusion
  3. Encourage Expressive Language
    • Sit face to face when reading
    • Use gestures and pointing, and when they do, talk about what they’re interested on the page.
    • Don’t be afraid to make all the funny sounds in the book – get them associating the representation of an object and a sound in the environment
    • As they get older, encourage them to name things, and get them to tell stories that have a beginning / middle / end
  4. Focus on “Inference”
    • Making inferences: essentially, the ability to read between the lines and draw conclusions based on clues you see in the environment.
    • Look at the characters’ faces and try to figure out what they’re thinking, what they’re feeling, based on their expression and situation
  5. Extend the Experience
    • You can never read it the same way twice! It is always new, every time.
    • Incorporate or model written language with sticky notes!
      • Write down or label their favorite parts of the page.
      • For older kids, write dialogue the characters might say to each other – and even record it so they can listen to it on their own another time!
    • Incorporate dramatic experiences, artistic, or tactile experiences associated with themes in your book

I hope this, paired with my book, will give you a starting point for both reading and creating your own wordless picture books.

Want to know some of my (and Megan’s) favorite wordless picture books? See below!

This post contains affiliate links. All activities described by Learn With Less assume close supervision of the child by an adult.

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Ayelet Marinovich, MA, CCC-SLP
Here at @learnwithless we love supporting families to understand their young children & help them develop.

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👀 Over the last few days, we’ve shared about what Anti-Palestinian Racism (APR) is, & what SLPs need to know. 

Unsurprisingly, we’ve received a barrage of Anti-Palestinian Racism AND anti-Jewish hate.

We defined APR (referencing the research of the Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism) @antipalestinianracism 
in our previous post.

We define antisemitism, or anti-Jewish hate, as “the discrimination of Jews, as Jews” (Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism).

🤷🏻‍♀️ So what’s going on here? What’s the basis for all the hateful comments & anger?

Let’s break it down:

‼️ The claim that Jews are a monolith & speak with one voice about any topic. 

✅ This is antisemitism. The insinuation is that all Jewish people hold the same beliefs on any given topic relating to Jewish identity, including Israel|Palestine.

‼️ Insinuation that Jews who disagree with zionism are “not Jewish” or that their beliefs surrounding this topic discredits their Jewish identity

✅ This is antisemitism. The claim silences Jews like me, as there are many Jews who define their Judaism separately from the nation state of Israel. 

In fact, for as long as the political movement of zionism has existed (since the 1880’s, whereas the Jewish religion has existed for thousands of years), there has been a strong history of Jewish anti-zionism. 

‼️ Conflating the nation state of Israel with the Jewish people

✅ This is antisemitism. The actions of a nation state are not the actions of individuals within a society. 

This would be comparable to the demonization & internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

‼️ Nakba Denial

✅ This is Anti-Palestinian Racism. We see claims that there are no such people called Palestinians; that Palestinians do not originate from a land called Palestine; denial of ethnic cleansing, genocide, & other crimes against Palestinians.

(Text Continued in comments)
🔍 So who is Ayelet of @learnwithless ?

Ayelet Marinovich, M.A.. CCC-SLP is a pediatric #speechlanguagepathologist whose career is defined by a deep commitment to empowering families & professionals through accessible, #evidencebased communication strategies.

🙏🏻 Her passion for advocacy is rooted in the belief that every individual deserves the opportunity to connect, communicate, & thrive.

📦 As the founder of Learn With Less@
Ayelet has created a transformative platform that supports parents & caregivers in fostering infant & toddler development using everyday materials & routines.

👀This approach demystifies early childhood development, emphasizing that meaningful learning doesn’t require expensive toys or elaborate setups.
@learnwithless equips families with practical tools to support their children’s growth.

🌱Ayelet’s advocacy extends beyond families to fellow professionals.
Through the Learn With Less©
Facilitator Training & Certification
Program, Ayelet has cultivated a diverse & compassionate community of professionals who lead caregiver support groups rooted in evidence-based practices.

🙌🏻 She not only uplifts the profession but also redefines what it means to serve families in inclusive, culturally responsive ways.

🌀Ayelet’s work is deeply informed by her identity as a Jewish woman.
Guided by values such as tikkun olam (repairing the world), chesed (lovingkindness), & tzedek (justice).

🤲🏻 These principles are reflected in every aspect of her career: in the way she builds community, in her commitment to lifting marginalized voices, & in her relentless pursuit of systems that value every family & every child.

🕎 Her Jewish identity is not simply a cultural heritage-it is a moral compass that drives her advocacy, her teaching, and her leadership.

HOW CAN YOU LEARN WITH LESS® ?
Head on over to our website:
https://learnwithless.com

📚 Enjoy our podcast, blog, bestselling books, trainings, and digital resources!

🔗Get started by downloading our Free Infant/Toddler Development Blueprint: https://learnwithless.com/blueprint

And this is social media for a reason: got a question? 👇🏻Leave a comment or send me a DM! 

#slp #pediatricslp
Thank you for spreading the word about Anti-Palestinian Racism in our last post.

We’ve been getting questions about why this was a post “only” about APR. Why not antisemitism, too?

For the last 601 days, we’ve been watching a genocide unfold on our phones.

There are thousands of Palestinian hostages being tortured in Israeli prisons. How many of them can you name?

There are 10s if not 100s of thousands of Palestinian Gazans (not including those in the West Bank) who’ve been murdered over the last 18 months. How many of them can you name?

Palestinians are dehumanized. Incredibly so. On every level:

Ideologically
Institutionally
Interpersonally
Intrapersonally

This was a post about Anti-Palestinian Racism. Full stop.

Humanize Palestinians.
Talk to Palestinians (I’m not Palestinian, I’m an Ashkenazi Jew. It doesn’t count).

Read about Palestinians
Learn about the Nakhba.
Speak out about Palestine.

It’s not antisemitic.

And @ashaweb 
It’s time you got serious about standing up for EVERYONE’S human rights.

There are MANY Palestinian SLPs and allies, and many more who we serve in our communities who are Palestinian.

Collective liberation means “liberation for ALL at the expense of no one” @accordingtoweeze 

FREE PALESTINE

END THE OCCUPATION

STOP THE GENOCIDE

END APARTHEID

#collectivehumanity #collectiveliberation 

Register for the upcoming training on Anti-Palestinian Racism from the Institute for the Study of Anti-Palestinian Racism @antipalestinianracism :

https://antipalestinianracism.org/apr-training/ (Link in my bio)
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