When I was in second grade I clearly remember one very specific writing assignment: fortunately/unfortunately stories. I remember writing about fortunately going to the beach but found that unfortunately, there were sharks in the water. Funny how some things stick with you.
I was having a fortunately/unfortunately kind of day when I sat down to start my research on this last post for the Wordless category. Fortunately, I am so stinkin’ proud of this little project of mine and am learning so much more with every post I dive into. Unfortunately, it can be a little overwhelming at times – 2500 word posts twice a week would be enough, but I’ve got 3 other classes and “real life” to mix in there as well. Fortunately, I’m a planner. I have been strategically mapping out my categories, book choices, post content, etc. for months. Unfortunately, sometimes I screw up. Like when I sit down to research for this post only to remember that Playground by Mies Van Hout (translated by Ineke Lenting) is NOT a wordless book.
Hmm, that could be problematic given that this is my Wordless category and all… (But in my defense, the text is really secondary given its interactive format which is why I had grouped it here. I honestly loved playing with the book so much when I had read it that it completely slipped my mind that there were words, too.) Fortunately, when I continued researching another book I had chosen, Anno’s Journey by Mitsumasa Anno, I stumbled across a brand new (to me) word that helped me get my post back on track by taking it down a slightly different path.
Unfortunately, that meant scrapping a book that I had really been looking forward to writing about because it didn’t quite fit anymore. Fortunately, for you, I’m still going to include a brief mention and some more information about it a little bit later. Unfortunately, for you, it means you’ll have to venture with me down this new rabbit hole I discovered for a little bit first. Fortunately, for all of us, it’s worth the trip.
I hope somewhere Ms. Hasmeier is smiling knowing that nearly thirty years later her lesson stuck with me. But enough of that, back to this word that I stumbled across and how it’s related to international wordless texts. I was reading through this review of Anno’s Journey, the 1978 winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in the Picture Book category when I came across a comment asking the writer if it could be considered a “wimmelbook.” The writer responds with an enthusiastic, “Yes, it’s very much a wimmelbilderbuch!”
My next thought was “what the heck is a wimmelbilderbuch???” I had never come across the term before and had no idea how it might be related to the wordless book by Anno. Thank goodness for Google!
A quick search turned up some important facts and articles and I knew my post had suddenly taken a new direction. Not only did wimmelbilderbuch relate directly to wordless picture books but it also had international origins. You may have guessed wimmelbilderbuch is German, translated into English it means “teeming picture book.” To teem means to be filled with or for it to be plentiful, so it’s a picture book filled with pictures! They are usually larger in size than most picture books and feature full-size spreads (usually two-page spreads) of one scene that is filled with objects, humans and animals. They are often wordless, but do not have to be. The genre in book form dates back to Germany in the 1960’s, and Ali Mitgutsch is often credited as the father of wimmelbilderbuch (commonly referred to in in English as wimmelbook).
But the style itself existed in another art form long before the 1960’s. While Mitgutsch, along with Hans Jurgen Press, may be credited with the genre, Dutch painters Heironymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder are responsible for the creation of the style through their works of art. A March 2017 article on the website Atlas Obscura examines a few of the works by these two Dutch masters as the background for the recent trend in hidden picture books, aka wimmelbooks. (I highly suggest reading the article, it goes much deeper into the origins than I can here. I think it’s fascinating to be able to connect 15th-century art from the Netherlands to trends in children’s books five hundred years later!)
I do want to clarify though, that this is one important difference to note, a wimmelbook is not considered to be directive in nature. They do not tell readers to find specific objects on a page, they invite them to explore an image on their own and find what might be considered hidden. Some suggest what a reader may be able to find if they search, but that is not the true intention of the book. In her 2010 article titled “Reading as Playing: The Cognitive Challenge of the Wimmelbook”, German Literature Professor Dr. Cornelia Remi states that “In contrast to puzzle or search books, wimmelbooks rely on their readers to find their own way through the rich material they contain and do not direct their attention by phrasing explicit search tasks.” In other words, like the books at the other day, each reader tells their own version of the story!
As I continued down this rabbit hole, I was intrigued to find so many positive promotions for wimmelbooks and even more so, given that the genre dates back to the 60’s, how recent they were. There doesn’t seem to be much scholarship at all prior to Remi’s article, something she noted. Most of the research and articles I found are dated within the last five years, in fact. That made me wonder though – could there be more information out there, just not in English? And why now? Could it be connected to recent publications of wimmelbooks geared towards adults? Or even interactive games for adults in wimmelbook style?
I honestly don’t have any answers, but I decided to track down a few other wimmelbooks to share because, in many ways, they do seem to be a unique import from overseas. The only American equivalent that quickly popped into my brain (and they’re not wordless) are some of the books by Richard Scarry.
As a kid, and again as an adult with my kids, I spent hours finding goldbug in Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. Though they do have words, these books invite the reader to explore beyond the text to find the hidden gems (like goldbug!) in the picture. Interestingly, I think that the book could be “read” without the text by following the journey of one character from page to page, similar to what we saw with Welcome to Mamoko in my “Outside the Box” category.
The other one that I can hear you practically yelling at me from here to mention is (believe it or not!) an import! While we Americans know the beloved series as Where’s Waldo? it’s actually a British series created by illustrator Martin Handford. (Interesting note, Wally’s name has been “localized” in other publications of the book around the world as well. (He’s Charlie in France!) This is a subject we’ll get back to again in our next category “Lost in Translation.”)
As with Scarry’s work, the books are not wordless. Each two-page spread features a short paragraph on the scene itself and some details as to what the reader may want to search for. The text on the page is even less directive, in my opinion than Scarry’s though. The most important text in the book is the explanation of Waldo, his friends and what other items appear in every spread that serves as the introduction to the book. Once a reader is armed with that information, they can proceed as they wish. Since being published for the first time thirty years ago, Wally has been lost in not only books but comic strips, video games, and even a TV series. And just think, next time someone asks “Where’s Waldo?” you can tell them he’s in a wimmelbilderbuch!
Trying to stay true to my category though, I tracked down a few more titles that are both wimmelbook and wordless. I mentioned that it was Anno who started me off on this journey. Before I was aware of the wimmelbook connection, I had been wanting to take a closer look at the idea of the Hans Christian Andersen award winning Japanese author’s depiction of northern Europe. The story is of Anno himself, on horseback, traveling through various scenes of villages, towns, and cities in northern Europe.
According to the author’s note at the end, the work is based on Anno’s own journeys through Europe in 1963 and 1975. As he wandered, he learned about the history of the area, painted, sketched and interacted with the people. Anno also weaves characters from children’s fairy tales, paintings from European masters, depictions of children playing games (perhaps a subtle nod to Bruegel’s Children’s Games) and even characters from Sesame Street! This is not Anno’s only wimmelbook style offering, (you can find some of them here), he even has a journey style books about the United States, Britain, and Spain.
The author’s note, I will admit, is very helpful to discern these subtle details and given examples of what readers may be interested in noting. But the book is otherwise wordless and could be enjoyed without the endnotes as well. Just tracking Anno on his horse from spread to spread allows a reader to tell their own version of his story. Additionally, something I hadn’t considered before (though it now strikes me as “duh!”) is part of the appeal of wordless books is that they work in all languages. They’re translated not be a writer, but the reader into words that work for them.
Another author that is often credited with being a large part of the wimmelbook movement is Rotraut Susanne Berner. Another Hans Christian Andersen award winner (2016), this German illustrator and graphic designer has over 80 books to her credit, many of them in wimmelbook style.
I was able to get my hands on a copy of her book In the Town All Year ‘Round, published her in the US in 2008. Giving credit where it’s due, there is minimal text and Neeltje Konings and Nick Elliot are given credit for the translation. Interestingly, I learned that the 2003 German edition was actually four volumes, and some scenes were condensed when it arrived on American shores a few years later. The book begins in Winter and follows a town and its people through each season. As I noted, there is text, but not on every page. Each season begins with a page full of characters with a short sentence with information or a question about the pictured object that can be searched for within the pages about that season. (Again, it brought to mind Mamoko in a lot of ways.)
In true wimmelbook style, the text is not directive, but a suggestion on paths a reader may wish to explore. Upon closer inspection, it does have a distinctly European feel with the style of the characters clothes, the cars they drive and even the actions they take (extra points if you can find the man smoking!). Berner also has other wimmelbook options if you’re interested.
Given that I was trying to track down books as I went, I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to get my hands on copies of everything that I wanted to be able to take a closer look at. But if you’re interested in wimmelbook style, I did mention German illustrator Ali Mitgutsch. You can read more about his work here. I wasn’t able to request a copy of any of his wimmel-style titles soon enough to share, but my library did have a copy of one of his other books, From Grain to Bread. The book, also known as a “Start to Finish Book” is another style popularized by Mitgutsch. Goodreads has 56 titles attributed to Mitgutsch and I’m looking forward to a few of his wimmelbooks showing up at my house via interlibrary loan here soon. Another international author whose work features wimmelbooks is illustrator Thé Tjong-Khing. Born in Indonesia where he attended the Seni Rupa Arts Institute, Thé has lived in the Netherlands since he was twenty-three and his books are written in Dutch. His most well-received book is wordless and in wimmelbook style, Where Is The Cake? which was followed by Where Is The Cake Now? and The Birthday Cake Mystery. I’m sure there are plenty of other examples out there, and if you know of any, I’d love to hear about them! As I noted, there’s really not a lot of information and research (at least in English) about this genre and I’m always interested in learning more from anyone who has insight!
Unfortunately, I seem to have exhausted my current knowledge about wimmelbooks. Fortunately, hopefully I’ve shed a little light on another option to consider when seeking out translated texts. Unfortunately, as I noted earlier my topsy-turvy decision to switch up this post meant scrapping me getting to dive deeper into one of my favorite wordless titles. Fortunately, you can check it out for yourself!
By: JiHyeon Lee
Also, if you’d like some additional insight from Lee herself about this book that made its way to America from South Korea in 2015, I highly recommend this article she wrote for the PIctureBook Makers blog. There are even pencil sketches from her early work on the book’s creation!
That (and I’m not sure by now if you’re thinking fortunately or unfortunately) brings us to the end of our Wordless category. Thanks for spending the time traveling down the wimmelbook rabbit hole with me in this last post. It’s always fun for me to get to explore something brand new even when it’s slightly off the course I had so precisely mapped out. I will be back here Friday to launch my next category, “Lost in Translation” where we’ll take a closer look at some of the arguments often raised against translated texts and why the sometimes get a bad rap in the process. Fortunately, I think every reader that stumbles across this blog of mine finds that idea challenged a little bit with some of what I’m able to share!
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