Visual Narratives vs Wordless Picture Books

During our first class this semester, we watched Shaun Tan's The Arrival as a YouTube video.  The Arrival is a book that is classified as a Visual Narrative.

Visual Narratives (VN) are stories told through visual media.  Visual media would be pictures, illustrations, video, and graphics.  VN's may be enhanced with music, voice, or other audio.

There are several characteristics that define a VN. From Wikipedia:

"Distinguishing characteristics of the visual narrative include:

• a persuasive story with a point of view
• high quality images, still or moving
• subject matter with pressing social, environmental, or spiritual value
• an appeal (explicit or implicit) for transformation in attitudes and behaviors"

                          I wonder...are VN's meant for a certain age group/s? I haven't found any information on that parameter.  Clearly the characteristics lead me to believe there should be some lower age limit if VN's are meant to be persuasive and transform attitudes or behaviors.  

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When my own children were young, I would take them to the public library and we returned home with armfuls of books.  Nightly, I would read aloud to them.  A favorite author of ours was Alexandra Day who wrote and illustrated the Carl series of picture books.  The Carl books told wordless stories of a Rottweiler who watched over a baby.  Each book showed the baby on an adventure under Carl's watchful eye.  Just a few words would start and finish these books.  

I wondered what the difference was between these almost wordless picture books and visual narratives.   Again referring to the characteristics above, I know the differences, but what purpose do wordless picture books serve?  

What value did these almost wordless picture books add to my children's reading skills?  Certainly looking at a book that holds few words means the creative part of one's brain is allowed to see patterns, and make sense of order through the images.  Each time one of my children read me a Carl story, they were allowed to use their own vocabulary and try their hand as the story teller.  They were not constrained by the words on the page, so no mistakes could be made.  

Quite honestly, before we watched The Arrival in class this week, I had almost forgotten what an important part our eyes and brain play in decoding what is happening around us.  When reading, we do not simply read the words and understand.  If no pictures exist in the text, our brain will create a picture.  But if there are pictures...well, images can be as powerful as words.  

Which now makes me wonder...what is the origin of "a picture is worth a thousand words"?  How does one decide which internet source is the most authentic?  I may have to research that next in my free time.  

~ltk