Bearded Dragon, Home Alone
A colorful wordless picture book, full of fun and joy, that can be shared with children in any language! An engaging and effective resource, for language input and interaction, in homes and schools!
Excerpts from 5-star reviews at Amazon
“Joyful wordless picture book to ‘read’ aloud in any language. The illustrations are both lovely and lively!”
“Wonderful wordless adventure to create your own stories.”
“We absolutely loved it and laughed our heads off! Perfect to encourage the little one to start storytelling!”
“Excellent book. I hope the author knows how much joy they will bring to those who buy this book.”
“Absolutely perfect for any age! This is the cutest book! Lots of imagination and so fun!”
“This book brings me so much joy! The illustrations are so well done and I laugh every time I look at it.”
Bearded dragon is a quiet, mild-mannered little lizard when others are around. But when this spunky reptile is home alone, it’s a very different story! Let the mischief-making begin in this joyful wordless picture book, a fun-filled romp for kids and grown-ups alike!
Like the three coloring books I’ve produced (which may also be of interest to you and your kids: Bearded Dragon Daydreams, Bearded Dragon Fairy Tales, and Cat Dreams), I teamed up with my 14-year-old son and the same talented illustrator. And this is the creative result of all our efforts!
Why wordless picture books are so useful for bilingual families
Wordless picture books are not only a unique genre of beautiful stories told through images alone (there are so many lovely wordless picture books out there!), they’re extremely flexible resources that can nurture a range of language skills in children of all ages.
*When “reading aloud,” you can tell the story in any language you like. And not only that, you can control the language you’re using to tell the story at the language level of the child. With a regular picture book, the level of the text in the book may or may not effectively match the child’s current level. A wordless picture book enables you to create a perfect match, every time!
*When you don’t feel tied to the text, as with a regular picture book, you gain more freedom to linger over the pages and engage with the illustrations. In my experience, a wordless picture book can actually promote more language use, more input, than regular picture books.
*A wordless picture book also enables the child to more easily “read” the book with, or to, the parent. Again, because there’s no set text that’s pitched at a certain level, the child can “read” the book—tell the story—at whatever level of language ability they’ve already gained.
*Wordless picture books are ideal for creating your own audio books with a device like the Chameleon Reader. With this type of electronic pen, you can embed your voice, telling the story, in special stickers that you affix to the pages of the book. Using the same electronic pen, the child can then listen to these stories, in your target language or languages (multiple languages are possible for each book), whenever they like! It’s a wonderful way to enrich your home in the minority language!
*As children grow older, wordless picture books are also very productive resources for writing practice. Even with my own kids, who are now 17 and 14, I still use wordless picture books by having them write out the story in their own words.
The real-life bearded dragon behind this book
Bearded Dragon, Home Alone was actually a labor of love in more than one way. Not only do I have a passion for wordless picture books, but the real-life bearded dragon that inspired this book—the sweet little star of our family named Fifa—died quite unexpectedly during the process of making it. This was a heartbreaking loss for us, but we eventually resumed our work and the book became a tribute to her.
As I explain in the back of the book…
Finishing this book after Fifa died was difficult. But it was also the best way to honor the joy she gave to us while she was alive. Because that’s exactly what this book is about: the experience of joy.
And, ultimately, isn’t that what life is about? In spite of the sadness, which can’t be avoided, isn’t it about the simple reaching for joy each day? Isn’t it about seeking to experience as much joy as our brief lives can hold?
Get a copy of this fun-filled book for your family or school
I’m honestly thrilled with how the book turned out—it looks beautiful—and I’d love for you to share it in your target language with your children or students. If you do, I’d be really happy to hear about your experience so please feel free to contact me personally!
Bearded Dragon, Home Alone is now available worldwide, in paperback, at Amazon, the global Amazon sites, and other booksellers. If you like the book, we’d be so grateful if you shared your positive impressions with others. Social media posts, and reviews at Amazon, Goodreads, and elsewhere online, can enable more people to discover the book and enjoy it, too. Thank you!
