As I've found that wordless books have greatly improved my 5-year old granddaughter's language development and confidence, I check out one on each visit to the library. Although most are good, this one is much, much better than most. The illustrations are vibrant, detailed, and gorgeous & they are done in a style that make it easy for children of all ages to "write" stories to go with them. I highly recommend this one.

My kids and I read A LOT of books, but I've never felt the need to leave a comment on any of the titles we have read until now. This book had incredibly cute illustrations and as it has no words, my kids had lots of fun making their own stories to go along with the photos. It was interesting to see how different their stories were even though the pictures remained the same. Great book!!!!

snicholson76
Jul 30, 2013

This wordless picture book would be wonderful for sharing with young children. The pictures are very clear, and children would have no trouble telling the story themselves!

Beautifully illustrated. Story? no words other than the 4 in the title, a true "picture book". Bad news for those of us who are writing with words. This is the first no-word book that I can honestly say the pictures DO tell an actual complete story -- this one about a little forest guy(I can only assume it's a bear?) that finds a hummingbird egg below a tree and goes to great lengths to try to return it safely to the nest.

Kids love photographs. They do. And they love picture books made up of photographs. The fact that we see so few of these in a given year may have as much to do with the range of artistic skills that need to be employed as it does big publishers’ reluctance to take a chance on a medium that doesn’t tend to win awards. Sometimes you have to leave the creativity to the little guys. And few little guys are quite as appealing to old Hank here. It’s something special, no question.

Summary

The first shot in this book is precisely what you’ll see on the cover. A little bear (I think he’s a bear, though his tail is admittedly a bit long) finds an abandoned egg sitting in the middle of the path. A quick scan of the surrounding area reveals the corresponding nest, though it is very high above the ground. Hank attempts several methods at returning the egg but each time he tries he finds he’s just too short. Bowed but not beaten (and with the mama bird nowhere in sight) he takes the egg to his campsite and keeps it warm throughout the night. The next morning he returns to the scene of the crime to find a mama hummingbird there and anxious for her baby’s return. Fortunately a spot of inspiration hits Hank and the next thing you know he’s come up with the perfect plan for getting that little egg back into its nest once and for all.