Today I “read” Unspoken, a 2012 picture book by Henry Cole.
I use the quotation marks around “read” because it is a wordless picture book: except for a few words that appear within one image, Cole tells the entire story with just drawings. And he does a great job of it.
Unspoken will not be for everyone, or for all ages, despite the lack of words, because it is, as the subtitle indicates, “A Story of the Underground Railroad.” Cole manages to communicate the fear and empathy vibrating through one young person’s escape to freedom.
It is really a book for all ages, and I found it very moving. I grabbed my chest in sympathy at one point, and felt like I wanted to cry. But if you read it to a child, know you’ll have some explaining to do.
