Everyone who has children, probably heard this unusual word for the Russian ear. But not everyone knows that Wimmelbuch is a kind of book that consists either entirely or almost entirely of pictures. At the same time, they are usually quite expensive. If you purchase them and use them incorrectly, you will get the opinion that this is wasted money. But if you take "reading" seriously, you can become their next fan.
Wimmelbuch - what is it?
The name comes from the German phrase Wimmel buch, which literally translates as "a book with flickering pictures." And such a name is given, because on the pages of Wimmelbuchs there are unimaginably many heroes, each of whom is busy with something of his own, and at first from such a variety it simply flickers in the eyes.
Usually these are thematic books consisting of a couple of dozen sheets of thick cardboard. They either have no words at all, or fluent descriptions for starting a fantasy flight. Often used the technique of "house in the context", such as a kind of "human anthill." At each U-turn, there are at least 20 heroes whose fate can be traced throughout the book.
Suppose, at the first turn, we see a family gathering somewhere, at the next turn, the family is already at the parade and stands at the elevator, at the next - it takes a taxi and so on. In parallel with this storyline, dozens more unfold on the pages. Moreover, at the first “reading”, not all of them will surely be noticed. Wimmelbuch can be read differently each time, and by allowing freedom for the child’s imagination to fly, a completely new interpretation of the plot can be obtained.
Where did this kind of book come from
For the first time, Wimmelbuch was illustrated about 40 years ago by the German artist Ali Mittush. The idea to create a similar book visited him after a trip around the world. Trying to collect all the impressions, he was inspired by the work of German engravers of the 17th century and realized that he could most accurately do this not with words, but with many sketches. And then, looking at these pictures, anyone can interpret them in their own way.
Wimmelbuchs such as “In the Village”, “Pirate Book”, “Ships”, “Wheel” and others came out from under his pen. Books immediately won the love of German children and their parents. And then they spread throughout Europe, and then to the whole world.
Wimmelbukhi Ali Mitgush is still relevant and published in Russia by the publishing house "Melik-Pashaev".
What are the benefits
Wimmelbuchs immediately fell in love with speech therapists-defectologists. After all, working with them, and “reading” them is a pleasant, but full-fledged work, which makes an invaluable contribution to the development of speech of non-speaking children.
First, the parent or speech therapist examines the book with the child, and then gradually begins to draw the child into her world, introduces the characters, voices what each of them does, fantasizes. And then, when the child is drawn in with interest, then it is possible to ask him with interrogative intonations to also participate in the creation of stories. When examining these pictures, the child has a strong desire to talk about what he sees, to show that he is able to understand and discuss all this, and this acts as a stimulant for the speech center.
For children who have already begun to talk actively, reading Wimmelbuchs will help enrich the vocabulary. Indeed, in the process, the child will have dozens of questions that will open him many new words and concepts. Enriching vocabulary will not harm even ten-year-olds.
The ability to notice the smallest details imperceptibly spreads to other areas of life. It will be a pleasant surprise for mother how the child begins to note the smallest details on walks, begins to fantasize about where a man is running, swept past, whom this girl is waiting on a bench, looking into the distance.
Well, and, of course, spending time together between parents and children is priceless, and vimmelbukhs undoubtedly push this to happen. After all, even if the child begins to look at the book at first alone, he will certainly have a desire to ask about many things, and he will find an adult. You can connect all family members, each add something of their own to the story. And this promises a long and cozy evening with your family.
Speech centers are actively stimulated, fantasy develops, the ability to build logical connections, the construction of analysis, and all this in a playful way. The love of books is being instilled, and in the age of electronic technology this is so important. After all, it is books that make us smarter in the literal sense of the word. Truly, Wimmelbuch is a brilliant book.
How to read
A reasonable question is how to read a book to a child if there are no words there. The answer, like all ingenious, is simple - to include imagination. If you look closely, all these small drawings on the pages of Wimmelbuchs are not random, these are all small stories. And these stories can be endlessly told or invented with a child. On each subsequent page, these stories continue. And if this is the Wimmelbuch from the series, then the characters will appear in each book of the series. And it will be a real meeting with an old acquaintance, who will definitely have something new.
We can say that this is a fairy tale invented on the spot. The reader has the power to independently evaluate the characters, make them good or bad, dream up what they think and what led them to this place.
Before reading with a child, it’s nice to look at the end of the Wimmelbook to get acquainted with the life of the heroes, and to know in which direction you can lead the conversation about a particular character. Otherwise, having come up with a sequel, turning the page, you can see something that is radically different, and then it will be problematic to steer the story in the right direction.
At first, you can simply ask the child to point out with his finger what is interesting to him in the picture. Based on this, questions may already be born. Each subsequent question will develop the story and fuel the conversation. Then each hero needs to be given names, try to reconstruct his life outside this picture, and then, meeting him further, find out how much the performance coincided with reality.
Of course, you can consider Wimmelbuch just like an ordinary picture book, but you won’t reveal its full potential. But even such a “passive reading” will stir the brain through flickering pictures. Moreover, at the first acquaintance with a book, it is recommended to simply scroll through it so as not to overload the brain immediately. After “reading” the wimmelbuch, one does not immediately manage to fall asleep, therefore one should not get it before going to bed, especially at first times.
What age are designed
Their charm is that a child of almost any age will discover something for them in them. Wimmelbuches are suitable for both the smallest and for children of secondary school age, but what is there, and for an adult they can be interesting. The older the child becomes, the more he will begin to understand. But even children under 3 years old will certainly be interested in vimmelbukhi. Kids love to look at cars, appliances, household items, animals, and this is always in abundance on the pages of wimmelbukhov. Not all kids immediately show interest in this kind of book. But if at the first meeting the child was not interested, do not rush to conclusions. Periodically, you need to try again and again, perhaps the child will “grow”.
But one thing always remains the same; the child will always need a listener and accomplice. The smallest someone needs to voice everything and name what they point with their finger. Older children need at least a listener to their stories, and at most an active writer.
To create a full-fledged impression of wimmelbuch, what it is - you can understand only after spending a few hours reading it. The books have many fans, but there are those who have not appreciated them, and this is natural.
Wimmelboucke Berner Rotraut Suzanne
Perhaps the most popular are wimmelbukha painted by German artist Berner Rotraut Suzanne. The story begins in the winter book Wimmelbuch and continues with the Spring Book, Summer Book and Autumn Book. Later, the series was supplemented by The Night Book, which depicts what happens to the heroes of the series when it is night on the street.
It is best to start with them, as many believe that this is a wimmelbuck, which can be called ideal.
They are made very high quality and have the format A3, therefore, their price is corresponding. The cost varies from 1 thousand rubles. up to 1.3 thousand rubles. In Russia, issued by the publishing house "Scooter".
Wimmelbuhi Gebel Doro
The second most popular in Russia can be considered a series of wimmelbukh artist Gebel Doro. Her wimmelbukh “In the circus” is truly unique in theme and has no analogues. And also she has other publications:
- "On the river";
- "Neighbors";
- “Once in a city”;
- "In the countryside".
Their price is slightly more affordable than that of Berner Rotraut Suzanne vimmelbuchs, about 1 thousand rubles. The series is being published by the publishing house Melik-Pashaev.
Wimmelbukha of Russian artists
Russian artists also picked up this trend. For example, Bagin Petr Ivanovich. Excellent reviews on the wimmelbuch of his pen “In the Forest”. Due to the fact that the artist is Russian, the book depicts the nature of Russia, which is much closer to our children. In addition to pictures, there are many descriptions that will introduce children to the peculiarities of animals in the forests. It describes how the forest has changed over the course of 12 months. It can be seen in the context in which burrows squirrels or foxes live.
Where can I buy
Buying them now is not a problem, as their popularity is off scale. First, Russian-speaking users brought them with them from trips abroad, fortunately, there are almost no words there, and this removes the language barrier. For example, the New Year's wimmelbukh by artist Anna Seuss has not been translated into Russian until now, but Russian mothers order it from abroad and tell what they see in Russian without problems.
Now wimmelbuchs began to be published in Russian, and all the most popular can be purchased at any store in the children's book department. It is most advantageous to purchase these books in online stores, but after having looked at them live, either in a physical store or from friends.
Residents of Ukraine have long been content with publications in Russian and English, but recently the zoo wimmelbukh appeared in Ukrainian.