Hike by Pete Oswald

 

Like the woods, this book is an immersive experience 

that invites repeated visits. Kirkus Star review

It’s a book to read slowly — and read repeatedly. 

Seven Impossible things Before Breakfast

Let's go on a hike.  We've been on a hike before so we know what we need to pack - binoculars; camera; snacks; drinks; rope; hard hats; and walking sticks. BUT why are we hiking?

• To see beautiful places
• To marvel at scenery
• For exercise
• To spend time with each other (father and child)
• To enjoy the great outdoors
• For an adventure

All of these are legitimate reasons but in Hike this pair, father and child, have an extra purpose. If you take a look at the quilt cover on the child's bed you get a small hint. It is covered in a forest of trees. In his bedroom the child has been reading a book - How to Plant a Tree. Do make sure you look at the very last page to see how tree planting has become a family tradition.

Hike is not quite a "silent"  or wordless book although it does appear on most book lists under this heading. 

Here are some of the words used in this book:  miaow; zip; click (coat fastening); munch; knock knock knock (woodpecker); click (camera); cheers; purr.

Plus there are books, labels, posters, signs and words in books such as Black Bear; milk; family album; How to plant a tree; Climbs; Bugs; Expore; Wild; Adventure; Vincent shoes; Anderson Fizz; and Will sports.

I am listing all of these to show that in the context of the IBBY Silent book collection this book probably would not be selected because the intention of this project is:

a collection of silent books (wordless picture books) that could be understood and enjoyed by children regardless of language.

Here is part of a report by IBBY New Zealand who hosted the silent book exhibition in 2020

One thing we noticed as we engaged with the books and spent time with them and visitors to the exhibition, was that not having words allowed us to slow down and spend time noticing details in the illustrations. We also learned how much language is generated when collaborating to make a story from the pictures; quite an irony for a supposedly ‘silent’ picture book. From our experiences we now understand even more clearly how powerful these books will be for generating stories and language from children and adults arriving in Lampedusa with multiple languages.

Even though Hike might not be selected by IBBY it is a truly splendid wordless book to share and re-read many times.  Here is an interview with Pete Oswald where he talks about wordless books and his ideas for Hike. So I tried to make the child more gender neutral. Since this is a wordless book I didn’t have to say ‘he’ or ’she.’ I felt like this idea could work. So the child has cropped hair, a green backpack and wears a pink beanie with knee high socks.

Here is a video of the whole book.

Here are some other books illustrated by Pete Oswald:

Pete Oswald mentioned the illustrator Miroslav Sašek (1916-1980) as someone he admires:

Finally you might like to watch this video made with a gentle sound track and a very personal story commentary.