The reading crisis in South Africa, particularly within the Foundation Phase (Grade R-3), continues to be a significant educational concern. In the Foundation Phase, learners are expected to develop foundational literacy skills critical for lifelong learning. However, the recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) reveals that 81% of South African Grade 4 learners struggle with basic reading comprehension and meaning-making in either their home or additional languages. This is mainly due to underdeveloped foundational literacy skills, resulting from language barriers, socioeconomic disparities, and limited access to inclusive pedagogical tools. Thus, this conceptual study explores the potential of wordless picture books as powerful pedagogical tools to support emergent literacy in diverse and multilingual South African classrooms. Wordless picture books use visual narratives to convey meaning. This allows learners to engage in storytelling, critical thinking, interpretive practices, and oral language development without being limited by the text. Their accessibility makes them viable resources in diverse and multilingual classroom contexts where learners enter school with varying levels of language proficiency and literacy exposure. These visual texts allow for inclusive participation, which aligns with the constructivist and multimodal theories of learning. This paper draws on existing academic literature from international and South African research to show how wordless picture books can be used in the classroom to develop emergent literacy skills and how they might address current gaps in foundational literacy education. Drawing on Vygotsky’s social constructivism and the multimodal literacy theory, this study argues that literacy development is a dynamic and socially situated practice that includes visual, oral, and cognitive dimensions. In addition, by synthesising the existing findings, this study positions wordless picture books as a viable tool central to equitable and effective pedagogy in addressing South Africa’s literacy crisis at the foundational level. The paper ultimately calls for a rethinking of emergent literacy instruction, one that embraces multimodal texts as legitimate, inclusive, and powerful contributors to early reading development. In doing so, it contributes to the growing discourse on inclusive literacy practices and proposes practical implications for addressing the literacy crisis in South Africa’s Foundation Phase.

Keywords: Wordless picture books, literacy, visual literacy, multimodal learning, foundation phase, South Africa.