24 Comments
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Mary Austin (she/her)'s avatar

These books were new to me. What fun.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Truly, you can get lost in them in the best way possible.

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Victoria Christensen's avatar

I had never heard the term Wimmelbook. Now I want to create one!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Do it! There are not enough wimmelbooks!

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Alexis Davis's avatar

Oh! And Spring is Here by Taro Gomi is a trip and great for the youngest. And there is one called Zoom by Itsvan Banyai which, like it sounds, is a book that zooms out as it goes along (or does it zoom in? I’d have to relook at it) but is a really interesting wimmelbook concept.

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Alexis Davis's avatar

I learned something new from you again!!! Love it! Have you discovered the pure magic that is Arthur Geisert? We love Hogwash, Ice, Mountain Town, Nursery Crimes. Really, you can’t go wrong. John Hare and his Field Trip book series have less going on per page but are wordless adventure books for exploration that we’ve enjoyed. The Marlo books by Christopher Browne are great for dog lovers with big imaginations! Those are the ones that pop into my head!!!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

I’ve read John Hare’s wordless books but I didn’t know he wrote wimmelbooks! Same with Geisert! I think Mountain Town might be the closest iirc. I’ll have to find them which I’m excited to do.

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Alexis Davis's avatar

Welllll I might have misunderstood the definition lol. I need to find some wimmelbooks to compare concepts. Sorry if I misled you on that!

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Kristin Long's avatar

I LOVE this concept! Wimmelbooks are new to me, and I can't wait to add some to our book collection! I Spy and Where's Waldo always seemed stressful to me, whereas I can see the comfort in a wimmelbook. Thank you for sharing these!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Yes! I find the seek-and-find to be too chaotic for me. It feels like I'm trapped in Times Square. 😐

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Robin LaVoie's avatar

Ooh, thank you for introducing me to these books—I am eager to try some out with my son and see how he reacts to the scenes and stories within them. Very cool

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Asta's avatar

My child LOVES this sort of book and now I know the name of the genre - wimmelbooks! It’s a bit of an onomatopoeia, no? We have one that has mazes in it. I don’t remember the title but it’s amazing! Kids can do the maze with their finger and then there are little stories in the pictures along the way. Plus most pages have a list of things to find. It’s fantasy with some dark monsters so it can be scary for people sensitive to that sort of theme.

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Carly Martin's avatar

Omg thank you for introducing this concept to me! My toddler currently loves Richard Scarry so I’m excited to dive into proper wimmelbooks now with these recs!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Oh I’m so excited for you and your toddler! You’re going to have so much fun with these books.

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Kathryn Barbash, PsyD's avatar

I have learned something new and may also say how fun the word wimmelbooks is? I definitely know my kids would be into these.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

I think they would be a hit with all 4 (and how cool if it were at the same time?! 😝).

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Kristen Pound's avatar

My kids LOVE the Bustletown books! I can't wait to try the others you mentioned. I had no idea they were called Wimmelbooks. Thank you!!!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Bustletown is my absolute favorite of them all!

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Rita Dantas's avatar

I love Wimmelbücher!

We have several, including three of the seasons by Rotraut Susanne Berger, but one that my girls request to see especially often is the Easter Wimmelbuch by Joachim Krause :)

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Sri Juneja's avatar

I’ve been trying so hard to get my hands on a Krause wimmelbook and just haven’t been able to find one here in the US that was in good condition AND not insanely expensive. Guess I’ll just have to go to Europe. 🙃

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Bailey's avatar

I didn’t have the Bustletown books (or any wimmelbooks) as a kid, but discovered them when my now-3-year-old was 1 and became FULLY OBSESSED. I’m a preschool teacher and I’ve yet to have a student who doesn’t find them totally captivating.

Britta Teckentrup released her own take on them recently, an animal town called Fluffyville—it’s the same scene at various moments in time throughout one day, which is a fun take on the genre! I also love, love All Along The River 🙂 wimmelbooks forever!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

I’ve read Fluffyville and think it’s sooo sweet! I am addicted to wimmelbooks. Haven’t met one I didn’t like (although, admittedly, there are a few I love better than others).

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Emily Henderson's avatar

This is so interesting! I’ve never heard of Wimmelbooks before and now I must have all of them!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Seriously! I have too many (but you really can’t have too many)!

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