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Screenwise Verdict
This oversized wordless board book is a massive hit for toddlers and early preschoolers. Rotraut Susanne Berner's illustrations pack every page with tiny, interwoven stories: a dog chasing a ball, workers painting a building, and a pair of balloons drifting over a summer storm.
Because there are no printed words, the book changes every time you open it. A two-year-old can point at the fire truck, while a four-year-old can track a single character's entire journey from the train station to an outdoor birthday party.
Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers ages 1 to 5 who love seeking hidden details and inventing storylines before they can read traditional text.
WISE Breakdown
Wholesome
98
Depicts a gentle, connected community enjoying summer activities like birthday parties, park picnics, and bike rides together.
Imaginative
95
The completely wordless format requires kids and parents to invent their own dialogue and trace dozens of tiny side plots across pages.
Safe
100
A board book featuring zero mature themes, jump scares, or intense content beyond a passing summer thunderstorm.
Enriching
92
Outstanding for visual comprehension, attention to detail, and early narrative skills as kids spot recurring characters doing different activities on each spread.
Parent Info
✓
Why It Might Be Great
Endless visual narrative lets pre-readers tell their own stories by following specific characters from page to page.
Durable oversized board book construction holds up to hours of floor time and repeated lap reading.
Wimmelbook design encourages deep focus and pattern recognition without needing a single printed word.
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What to Watch For
Requires active adult participation at first since there is no printed story text to read aloud.
Oversized physical dimensions make it too large for standard small toddler bookshelves.
Conversation Starters
"Where did the red balloon go on this page?"
"Why do you think the house painter is running right now?"
"What do you think everyone is going to bring to the birthday party?"
Deep Dive
Why wordless wimmelbooks punch above their weight
In German children's literature, Wimmelbooks are a staple genre, oversized spread-based books teeming with human activity and zero text. All Around Bustletown – Summer is one of the absolute best examples available in print.
For non-readers, standard picture books can feel passive during lap-reading because the adult holds the text key. Wordless seek-and-find books flip that dynamic entirely. Your toddler becomes the primary narrator, spotting details you completely missed and connecting character movements across the town's geography.
How to get the most out of it
Instead of trying to look at the whole page at once, pick one recurring character on the back cover and follow only them through every spread. You can track the ice cream vendor, follow the couple riding bikes, or trace the dark clouds moving in for the summer thunderstorm.
