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15th out of 93 books
—
205 voters
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad
by
Henry Cole
A young girl's courage is tested in this haunting, wordless story. When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened. But the stranger's fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice. Will she have the courage to help him? Unspoken gifts of humanity unite the girl and the runaway as they eac...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
November 1st 2012
by Scholastic Press
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Sometimes, when the stars align, an illustrator delivers a statement in the form of a book. Jerry Pinkney did it in 2009 with The Lion & the Mouse. Brian Selznick did it in 2007 with The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Henry Cole’s beautiful Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad shares elements of both books. Like the nearly wordless The Lion & the Mouse, Unspoken allows the illustrations to tell the tale. And similar to The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the moving artwork is created ent...more
Historical fiction, wordless picture book! A rare combo. This one should have won Caldecott 2013.
The graphic designer, Marijka Kostiw, is a genius. That blue page border! And the chosen color of paper reflects a luminescent pink aura all the way down the gutter when read with overhead light! (Don't open the book too flat--let the pages bow and curve up a bit.) This magical shadow effect is so consistent with the overall design that it doesn't distract from the visual feel of the drawings and th...more
The graphic designer, Marijka Kostiw, is a genius. That blue page border! And the chosen color of paper reflects a luminescent pink aura all the way down the gutter when read with overhead light! (Don't open the book too flat--let the pages bow and curve up a bit.) This magical shadow effect is so consistent with the overall design that it doesn't distract from the visual feel of the drawings and th...more
Unspoken is a wordless picture book about a young Southern farm girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding behind the corn crib in the barn and decides to help him. This is the first time I explore a wordless book with my son, and we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the story told in beautiful illustrations.
The illustrations are pencil drawings much like those by Brian Selznick (Wonderstruck, The Invention of Hugo Cabret). My son thought they were done by him because of the similarities. We...more
The illustrations are pencil drawings much like those by Brian Selznick (Wonderstruck, The Invention of Hugo Cabret). My son thought they were done by him because of the similarities. We...more
This was my choice for the Caldecott this year--alas, it didn't even get an honor recognition. I'm guessing voters thought the style looked too much like that of Brian Selznick, who won the Caldecott for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, even though this book is different in character. Others have summarized the plot, so I won't repeat plot details, but I will point out a few things readers (examiners?) might miss the first time around: The cat that accompanies the little heroine on her secret missi...more
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This is a beautiful book! It is a wordless book that is about one girl who helps a slave that has run away and is trying to escape with the help of the underground railroad. The pencil drawings are beautiful (oh wait, I said this book was beautiful already)! Okay, the details of the pencil drawings make the reader look at everything more closely. From the quilt hanging on the fence to the eye peeking out behind the corn. This book is one that even though it doesn’t have any words, will take a wh...more
This eloquent wordless book focuses on the friendship between a young Southern farm girl and a runaway slave hidden in the family’s corn crib. No words are spoken between the two friends, but the girl leaves a checkered napkin each night with a bit of food. Although the Civil War is raging, Confederate soldiers abound, and men come in search of the slave, the girl and her family say not a word. Eventually the runaway slave leaves, but he or she leaves behind a small doll fashioned from a checker...more
UNSPOKEN is a wonderful book. With appealing artwork it shows how a young girl bravely helps a another another girl, a runaway slave, to find her way to freedom.
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**
The book begins with the girl watching a small band of Southern soldiers as they ride across her family's land. She goes about her chores, but senses something is wrong. And it's at this point that the reader gets to see that someone is hiding in the tall corn. All the adults go about their business, basically ignori...more
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**
The book begins with the girl watching a small band of Southern soldiers as they ride across her family's land. She goes about her chores, but senses something is wrong. And it's at this point that the reader gets to see that someone is hiding in the tall corn. All the adults go about their business, basically ignori...more
Review via Cracking the Cover
Sometimes, words aren’t needed. Sometimes, things are better left unspoken. Sometimes, you only need look at the world around you.
“Unspoken” is the story of a young farm girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn. The girl is frightened and runs away, but she can’t forget the slave’s fearful eyes. She brings food and quiet comfort and is rewarded with an unspoken gift of gratitude and friendship.
Sometimes, you don’t have to have words to speak.
“Unspoken” i...more
Sometimes, words aren’t needed. Sometimes, things are better left unspoken. Sometimes, you only need look at the world around you.
“Unspoken” is the story of a young farm girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn. The girl is frightened and runs away, but she can’t forget the slave’s fearful eyes. She brings food and quiet comfort and is rewarded with an unspoken gift of gratitude and friendship.
Sometimes, you don’t have to have words to speak.
“Unspoken” i...more
Oct 16, 2012
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
civil-rights,
community,
families,
friendship,
ncbla2013,
picture-book,
wordless-picture-books,
war
This powerful wordless picture book stuns because of what it doesn't say, forcing readers to read and think between the lines and the pages. When a young farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in her family's barn, she must decide what to do. Telling no one, she brings food to the barn, and then later, goes to warn the fugitive about the men looking for him. Reading this title more than once will help young readers notice more details each time; for instance, I noticed the quilt hanging over...more
Far and away my favorite part of Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad is the dedication in the beginning. I paraphrase, "to the librarian who taught me to shine my light." (This could be really wrong, by the way.) It made me want to be that librarian for people, and it also made me sad about the librarians who aren't helping people become the person they're meant to be. Ok, that was really cheesy so... moving on.
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad is a wordless picture boo...more
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad is a wordless picture boo...more
Detailed pencil drawings are used to tell this wordless story. Actually, there are some words, but only as part of an illustration which includes a wanted poster. Opening with a quilt hung over a fence and ends with a lit lantern opposite an illustration of the girl in bed looking out at the stars forming the Big Dipper. Somewhere I read (not in the author's notes, but he should have included this if it's correct) the quilt was used to signal a safe house on the Underground Railroad. The story p...more
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
shows the wordless story of a young Southern farm girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding behind the corn crib in the barn and courageously decides to offer help.
Cole's illustrations were done on Canson Charcoal paper with Staedtler Mars 4B pencils. I enjoyed the detailed, hatched and shaded pencil images of both outside and interior scenes. Static images and actions of walking, running and riding are well portrayed. I expecially ap...more
shows the wordless story of a young Southern farm girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding behind the corn crib in the barn and courageously decides to offer help.
Cole's illustrations were done on Canson Charcoal paper with Staedtler Mars 4B pencils. I enjoyed the detailed, hatched and shaded pencil images of both outside and interior scenes. Static images and actions of walking, running and riding are well portrayed. I expecially ap...more
A series of drawings show a moving encounter between farm girl and runaway slave.
The choices Cole makes to convey his story seem perfect. This wordless book describes a wordless encounter. It’s a secret, quiet. The gray palette, the soft pencil shading, convey the seriousness of the story. Some scenes are framed in the cream paper and a muted blue line. The suspense is heightened by the body language and the bare tree branches. For readers who know the history, details add to the story: the moun...more
The choices Cole makes to convey his story seem perfect. This wordless book describes a wordless encounter. It’s a secret, quiet. The gray palette, the soft pencil shading, convey the seriousness of the story. Some scenes are framed in the cream paper and a muted blue line. The suspense is heightened by the body language and the bare tree branches. For readers who know the history, details add to the story: the moun...more
I'm not usually a fan of wordless picture books, and its a rare one that can grab my attention - but Henry Cole's Unspoken did the trick for me. Subject matter probably paid a large part in this; I recently found out my distant ancestors, the McGees of Jackson County, Michigan, were active in the Underground Railroad, and the wordless aspect of this simple, beautifully illustrated story lends itself well to making it "my" family story. Henry Cole's afterword is excellent as well, making it "his"...more
It's inspiring to read stories about those who do things because they know it is the right thing to do, and this is one of those stories. Written for all ages of readers, it shows the story of a young girl who gives some food to someone hiding in her corn field. Although these are perilous times for people with marauding soldiers coming by, raiding everything they can find, especially food and animals, the young girl hears something, and investigates later at night. The story creates enough tens...more
If this book doesn't win the 2013 Caldecott Medal, I'll eat my proverbial hat.
Henry Cole (A Nest for Celeste) creates a perfect wordless picture book with pencil artistry that recalls the best of Maurice Sendak and Brian Selznick. The story is about an ordinary white girl in the Confederate South who chooses to do something extraordinary. You may find yourself holding your breath until the story's conclusion. Then, if you are like me, you will go back and savor all the small details.
A story with...more
Henry Cole (A Nest for Celeste) creates a perfect wordless picture book with pencil artistry that recalls the best of Maurice Sendak and Brian Selznick. The story is about an ordinary white girl in the Confederate South who chooses to do something extraordinary. You may find yourself holding your breath until the story's conclusion. Then, if you are like me, you will go back and savor all the small details.
A story with...more
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yes, this is a beautifully illustrated book for very young children but there is not one illustrated reference to the fugitive enslaved person, save an eye. Who's eye? Without the VITAL information in the book's jacket as to its context, it was really hard for me to convey to a child that this was a girl helping a RUNAWAY SLAVE. She could have been helping anybody hiding out in a barn. Even the wanted notice shown later in the book bears no reference to "slave" on it - so it could reference any...more
I was surprised at how moved I was by this book. There are no words to accompany the beautiful illustrations that take up the whole page, but the story moves along beautifully. It is an introspective look at a young girl who faces big decisions during the reconstruction era. Her family's farm is a stop on the underground railroad and one day while playing in the barn, she finds something surprising. The story follows her as she figures out that she can play a part in the course of history. The i...more
Another Caldecott contender. Unspoken is a gorgeous, wordless book rendered in sepia- toned pencil drawings. Visually striking, and it reminded me of Selznick's work in Hugo Cabret.
The beauty continues in the way Henry Cole unfolds the story. The reader needs to fully engage with the illustrations as we watch the Confederate Army ride through the farm yard, and a young girl head to the barn. She is in for a surprise and her response and actions that follow are courageous and kind. In choosing t...more
The beauty continues in the way Henry Cole unfolds the story. The reader needs to fully engage with the illustrations as we watch the Confederate Army ride through the farm yard, and a young girl head to the barn. She is in for a surprise and her response and actions that follow are courageous and kind. In choosing t...more
Set during the Civil War, Unspoken follows a young girl as she discovers the secrets of her family's farm. Though we never see who is hiding in the hen house, the illustrations carry the protagonist's urgency to protect and care for whomever is using this stop on the underground railroad. Henry Cole's graphite illustrations capture details and carry powerful emotions. Though wordless, Henry has included an author's note at the end that tells his story and encourages readers to "write the words a...more
GORGEOUS. When I got this book in the mail after reading about it in several blogs, I knew it would become one of my most treasured picture books. I even love the texture of the book jacket and the thick pages. It's a beautifully told wordless story about a girl who discovers a runaway slave hiding in her family's barn. The girl's courage and compassion leads her to feed the stranger and help keep his secret. We never see the face of the runaway slave. We only see his eye peering out from his hi...more
Unspoken is another wordless picture book that says so much without using a word. The story is about the underground railroad, and in particular it is about a young girl who finds an escaped slave hiding in the corn being stored in the barn. She proceeds to leave whatever food she can for the escaped slave, all the while never saying a word to anyone about the person living in the barn, even when slave owners come by looking for escaped slaves.
I would recommend this book to first grade and up, a...more
I would recommend this book to first grade and up, a...more
Mar 05, 2013
ReadingWench
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
childrens,
historical,
picture-book,
3rd-grade,
4th-grade,
5th-grade,
6th-grade,
hidden-treasures
I was in the library and saw this book on display. I had to pick it up, the cover was just beautiful!
Opening it up to start reading, I noticed this is a wordless picture book on the underground railroad. I was taken aback after I finished this book to discover the story came across so clear, no words were needed.
The pencil drawings in this book enhance the story. The art will appeal to the older child. The details in this book are phenomenal, everything from the quilt, the logs for the cabin,...more
Opening it up to start reading, I noticed this is a wordless picture book on the underground railroad. I was taken aback after I finished this book to discover the story came across so clear, no words were needed.
The pencil drawings in this book enhance the story. The art will appeal to the older child. The details in this book are phenomenal, everything from the quilt, the logs for the cabin,...more
A wordless picture book about a brave girl who helps a runaway slave. A young girl spots the slave hiding amongst the corn stalks while she is doing her daily chores on the farm and is haunted by the knowledge and the eye she saw staring back at her. She leaves food offerings and keeps the secret even when men begin searching for the escaped slave.
Graphite illustrations give this story life. The escaped slave is never shown in full body form, which gives readers the haunting feeling the young g...more
Graphite illustrations give this story life. The escaped slave is never shown in full body form, which gives readers the haunting feeling the young g...more
This story is so beautiful because it focuses not on kind word, but kind actions. The little girl in the story finds a runaway slave in her henhouse, and helps him by giving him food and water, and not giving him up to the soldiers who come searching for him. The illustrations are beautifully done, and students of any level of reading can appreciate the story and understand it, particularly those who are learning to speak English. It also teaches students about important historical events. Here,...more
So many things are unspoken in this wordless picture book. The unspoken kindness of a young gurl to a stranger. The unspoken heroes who made the Underground Railroad possible. The unspoken horrors of slavery and the slave catchers. The unspoken bravery of the slaves who dared to escape. What does come through loud and clear, however, is the importance of small acts of kindness. The illustrations in this book are more than enough to convey the depth of emotion. Although this book is wordless, you...more
Appeal Characteristics: Art: Grainy Textures, Black & White Wordless, and historical
I just sat staring at the pictures like... HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO DRAW THIS?! The title was fitting for this beautiful unfolding story, and I loved the connecting history and the information the author gives in the back! Great Read! The quiet beauty...against the texture is a conondrum, in the fact that something so grainy could be described as lush... I could definitely see this being a great discussion...more
I just sat staring at the pictures like... HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO DRAW THIS?! The title was fitting for this beautiful unfolding story, and I loved the connecting history and the information the author gives in the back! Great Read! The quiet beauty...against the texture is a conondrum, in the fact that something so grainy could be described as lush... I could definitely see this being a great discussion...more
This completely wordless picture book shows a girl from the Civil War era (evidenced by the Confederate soldiers on horses before the first page) who finds an escaped slave hiding in her barn. She wonders if she should turn him in as she sits down to dinner with her family and as slave bounty hunters come to the door. The story builds tension and the reader worries what the girl will decide to do. The story is very easy to follow without words and children could write words to the story as a cla...more
Absolutely beautiful. Pencil and charcoal work is perhaps one of my favorite artforms. Maybe something related to illustrations in my Little House books when I was growing up, but I never get enough of them. Plus--I'm amazed at the lack of smudging! (I could never get my few attempts to be smudgeless.) Aside from the technique, so much is said in these illustrations. So much to look and find in the beautiful work.
Probably best as a lap-read for slightly older child who can grasp the action, the...more
Probably best as a lap-read for slightly older child who can grasp the action, the...more
A lovely wordless picture book told through luminously detailed illustrations reminiscent of Brian Selznick. Cole's note at the end sheds light on how he came up with the idea for the story, and I enjoyed hearing that so much of his inspiration came from growing up in Loudoun County, VA, a hop and a skip from where we live. Younger children may have a hard time following the story, especially since the escaped slave is not obvious in the illustrations. But what a great conversation starter and s...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Book Giveaway: Win Unspoken by Henry Cole | 1 | 4 | Feb 12, 2013 08:49am | |
| Win Unspoken by Henry Cole | 1 | 3 | Feb 07, 2013 05:18am |
Per back cover: He is a dandy dresser, but he does need to don his dentures when dining out. Illustrated many books for children. He lives in Virginia.
More about Henry Cole...
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