Looking Down

I don't remember ever buying a wordless book (or checking out any from the library). I decided to order four from Amazon in order to explore a new genre. This week I will be posting a series of posts on the wordless books I bought.

Using cut-paper illustrations, Steve Jenkins' book Looking Down starts out in outer space and then zooms in increasingly more with each flip of the page. I always think that it is fascinating to watch scenes below from airplane windows, and this book reminded me of that sensation. 

In addition, I enjoyed analyzing the type of paper and textures that Jenkins selected for each aspect of the illustrations. It made me think of the ideal paper to create other scenes around the globe.

I was always guessing which aspect of the current picture would be featured as an enlarged version on the following pages. Once I reached the end, I loved the detail that ended up being the focal point. Inspiring wonder and awe with both the zooming in details and the artwork, this wordless book has a lot to offer in order to prompt discussions.