Dear Sandie,
part of what I was trying to achieve with my wimmelbook chapter was to find out what German readers perceive as wimmelbooks, not to give an ultimate definition of the term. My aim in this regard was to determine their implicit understanding of the genre (by means of a survey) and to phrase it explicitly. The work of Mitsumasa Anno would certainly correspond to that genre concept. Another relevant artist whose work I have actually examined more closely in my chapter is Thé Tjong-Khing (born in Java, working in the Netherlands). The attribute "wimmelpicture" has also been assigned paintings by Brueghel, Bosch and Altdorfer or (metaphorically) to stories "teeming" with characters and subplots like Ovid's "Metamorphoses".
You are very right in pointing out that the "Wally" (or "Waldo") books look "too cluttered" compared to Mitgutsch or Berner. That's because their basic concept differs from that of wimmelbooks (although one might count their artwork as "wimmelpictures"): They have been designed as puzzle books, i.e. their pictures are always combined with explicit search tasks, while classical German wimmelbooks offer no such tasks or at least assign them a rather low priority. It's very interesting to observe what happens when such books are published in other countries that lack our "wimmelbook" concept - at least in Rotraut Susanne Berner's case her US-publisher has tried to adapt her books to the "puzzle book" genre which is more familiar to US audiences.
Best,
Cornelia
----
Cornelia Rémi
Institut für Deutsche Philologie
Schellingstr. 3
80799 München
GERMANY
-------- Original-Nachricht --------
> Datum: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 11:33:26 +0000
> Von: "Sandie Mourão" <[log in to unmask]>
> An: [log in to unmask]
> Betreff: Re: Picturebook - how does the concept come across in other languages? - wimmelbooks
> Dear all,
>
> Many thanks for these responses Marion and Bettina; and for the
> references.
> I love the idea of a book with distinct images, and the German idea of
> picturesbook. I am most fascinated by the wimmelbooks, which I googled
> and
> came across a excerpt from Cornelia Rémi’s chapter in Bettina’s
> edited
> volume, and I also browsed through her chapter, or bits of it, on google
> books.
>
> “Wimmelbooks are a type of wordless picture books which display a series
> of
> panoramas teeming with an immense amount of characters and details. They
> constitute a narrative threshold genre with the potential to accompany
> children a good piece of way along their path to literacy and introduce
> them
> to different strategies of coping with the world and of telling stories.
> In
> contrast to puzzle or search books, wimmelbooks rely on their readers to
> find their own way through the rich material they present and do not
> direct
> readers' attention by phrasing explicit search tasks. Visual references to
> other works of fiction may provide an additional stimulus and motivation
> for
> adult readers and thus constitute the "dual address" of such books. They
> allow for manifold reading options and encourage a highly active response
> from children and adults alike, which rightfully might be described as a
> form of playing.”
>
> Are there any wimmelbooks outside of the German publishing industry? I
> think
> there’s a mention to the Where’s Wally books, but they are too
> cluttered.
> What about Anno’s Journey, by Mitsumasa Anno, would that count?
>
> I shall have to overcome my difficulty in French and look for the French
> title you have mentioned Bettina and try to fathom it out.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Sandie
>
>
> Sandie Mourão
> http://sandiemourao.eu
> http://picturebooksinelt.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 4/11/12 10:42, "Prof. Dr. Bettina Kuemmerling-Meibauer"
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Dear all,
> >
> > As a complement to Marion's mail: the German notion "Bilderbuch" is
> > firstly mentioned in the "Deutsches Wörterbuch" (literal translation:
> > German Words Book) by the Brothers Grimm in 1860. It is interesting to
> > note that the Grimms refer to the Latin notion "liber imaginibus
> > distinctus" (book with distinct images) withouth any further
> > explanation (I wrote a German article about the term "Bilderbuch" for
> > a handbook, published this year).
> >
> > The notion "Wimmelbuch" is not accurately translatable into English.
> > But there exist an interesting article on this book type, written by
> > Cornelia Remi. She translated the notion as "wimmelbook": "Reading as
> > playing. The cognitive challenge of the picturebook." In: Bettina
> > Kümmerling-Meibauer (ed.) (2011): Emergent Literacy. Children's books
> > from 0 to 3. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
> >
> > Last but not least: as for the French notion "album": Isabelle
> > Nières-Chevrel wrote an article about the connotation of this term
> > "L'album, le mot, la chose." In: L'Album. Le parti pris des images,
> > edited by Viviane Aléry and Nelly Chabrol Gagnes. Clermont-Ferrand:
> > Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal 2012.
> >
> > Kind regards,
> > Bettina
> >
> > Zitat von Marion Rana <[log in to unmask]>:
> >
> >> Picturebook - how does the concept come across in other
> >> languages?Dear Sandie, dear all,
> >>
> >> in German, we use the word "Bilderbuch" which translates as
> >> picturesbook rather than picturebook, i.e. using the plural rather
> >> than the singular. As far as I am aware this is the only term for
> >> picturebooks, with the exception of the "Wimmelbücher" which I am
> >> always at a loss at how to translate -- I think the term wimmelbooks
> >> has actually entered the English language? The term "wimmeln" can be
> >> translated as "to teem", "to swarm" or "to abound" but I don't think
> >> the translations have the same connotation of excitement, creative
> >> disorder and eagerness -- you would e.g. use the term "wimmeln" to
> >> describe ants on a heap. The most famous German wimmelbook author is
> >> Ali Mitgutsch (see e.g.
> >>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mein-gro%C3%9Fes-Winter-Wimmelbuch-Ali-Mitgutsch/dp/3
> >>
> 473433705/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1352023054&sr=8-13#reader_3473433705), more
> >> recently Rotraut Susanne Berner has published some more orderly
> wimmelbooks
> >>
> (http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Town-All-Year-Round/dp/081186474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=U
> >> TF8&qid=1352023136&sr=8-1#reader_081186474X).
> >>
> >> And the German translation for world of picturebooks is "die Welt
> >> der Bilderbücher", which I am by no means an expert on but am really
> >> looking forward to entering with you ;-)
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> Marion
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: Sandie Mour ã o
> >> To: [log in to unmask]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 11:20 PM
> >> Subject: Picturebook - how does the concept come across in other
> languages?
> >>
> >>
> >> Dear all,
> >>
> >> I'm wondering if my message highlighting the multilingual side of
> >> this list has made subscribers rather shy. I hope not! The 140th
> >> subscriber logged on earlier this evening, that's amazing for just a
> >> week of existence!
> >>
> >> I thought we could follow on a little from my google translate
> >> experience and explain to each other how the concept behind the
> >> label picturebook works in other languages and cultures – also
> >> written picture book and picture-book in English! I recall Evelyn
> >> Arizpe asking this question a couple of years ago on a facebook
> >> research group. Few people answered her question. It was in the
> >> back of my mind as I wrote the multilingual message in my earlier
> >> post and I wondered if anyone would comment on my translations ...
> >> No one has!
> >>
> >> In Portuguese, academics talk of the álbum, álbum narrativo, álbum
> >> ilustrado but generally teachers and parents talk about a livro
> >> ilustrado – this would equate to the distinction between picturebook
> >> and illustrated book/storybook I suppose. The real Portuguese on
> >> this list can correct me if I’ve got it wrong (I’m just an English
> >> person pretending to be Portuguese!). Álbum comes from the French
> >> and I wondered why the French use this term and how it fits into the
> >> concept of picturebook. Can anyone tell me? The Spanish also use
> >> álbum – again is it just because the French do? But what about the
> >> Italians? These are all romance languages, so do they all use and
> >> refer to the album? Google translate gave me libri illustrati – is
> >> that right?
> >>
> >> What about other languages, how is this form of children’s
> >> literature referred to and how does the concept come across through
> >> the label? I recall a Polish colleague telling us that there is no
> >> suitable word for a picturebook in Polish.
> >>
> >> Thanks in advance for any comments.
> >>
> >> Sandie
> >>
> >>
> >> Sandie Mourão
> >> http://sandiemourao.eu
> >> http://picturebooksinelt.blogspot.com/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 27/10/12 18:09, "Sandie Mourão" <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> To all who have recently subscribed to the New Directions in
> >> picturebook research discussion list.
> >>
> >> I have just checked some statistics and since this list was set
> >> up earlier this week, over 130 subscribers have happily joined.
> >> Thank you all so much for showing such enthusiasm and interest.
> >>
> >> I thought I'd give a little background to this initiative. Just
> >> over a year ago I attended the third New Directions in picturebook
> >> research seminar /event/meeting in Tubingen, Germany - organised by
> >> Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer. There I offered to set something up to
> >> enable interested folk to come together to share a wide range of
> >> experiences related to picturebook research, to support young
> >> researchers, to share information about publications, conferences,
> >> and events and to encourage participation and sharing on a
> >> multilingual and multicultural level. We discussed various means for
> >> doing this - but I was slow to get going. It is thanks to Evelyn
> >> Arizpe at the University of Glasgow, who agreed to set up the
> >> JISCMAIL list for me - being resident in Portugal (outside of the
> >> UK), I could not do this myself. I have agreed to moderate the list
> >> for the time being. I am happy for any other enthusiastic person to
> >> do this with me or instead of me.
> >>
> >> The list has already been hugely useful for Nithya Sivashankar
> >> who has been looking for picturebooks related to partition and war.
> >> It was such a waft of fresh air seeing the messages arrive with
> >> picturebook titles in different languages. Thanks to those of you
> >> who have already posted.
> >>
> >> I hope the list continues to enable such activity and connects
> >> researchers worldwide through the picturebook, no matter what
> >> language they speak. Google translate can be such a quick resource
> >> if we need a general translation, and doesn't do too badly these
> >> days... Even if it does bring a smile to our lips! I am encouraging
> >> all languages to appear here, thus developing both our
> >> intercomprehension skills and our understanding of what is happening
> >> in the picturebook world, or should I say O mundo dos álbuns (I
> >> speak Portuguese but write it badly!) and with the help of google
> >> translate... el mundo de los libros álbuns; il mondo dei libri
> >> illustrati; le monde des albums ... Dare I say... Verden af
> >> billedbogen; Świata z książki z obrazkami; Svet obrázková
> kniha;
> >> Mae byd y llyfr lluniau; I världen av bilderbok ...
> >>
> >> If anyone has any comments or thoughts about anything particular
> >> they would like to see on this list do send in your thoughts.
> >>
> >> Many thanks and best wishes,
> >>
> >> Sandie
> >>
> >>
> >> Sandie Mourão, PhD
> >> English Language Teaching
> >> Teacher Educator - Author - Consultant
> >>
> >> http://sandiemourao.eu
> >> http://picturebooksinelt.blogspot.com/
> >>
> >> Estrada Principal, nº 400
> >> Rio Seco
> >> 2440-209 Reguengo do Fétal
> >> Portugal
> >> tel: 00351 244892841 / 00351 933489004
> >> email: [log in to unmask]
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > Prof. Dr. Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer
> > Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen
> > Deutsches Seminar
> > Wilhelmstr. 50, D72074 Tübingen
> > [log in to unmask]
> > http://homepages.uni-tuebingen.de/bettina.kuemmerling-meibauer
>
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