The British comic parlays his book series and soon-to-be-movie into a pop-up product. Readers unfamiliar with Flanimals will receive a thorough introduction to the many different types but no story whatsoever. With their Dahl-esque names—Mung Ungler, Gernloid, Spluff—and correspondingly vivid caricatures, the creatures have an initial appeal, but perusal of their written descriptions reveals a mean spirit entirely unleavened by a genuine sense of fun. In fact, readers’ “ridicule and disgust at [the Flanimals'] vulgar and futile existence will only be surpassed by the hatred and shame they feel for themselves.” From this first-spread introduction, creature after creature unfurls, each with a gloss that at best is unpleasant and at worst is just plain nasty. The only positive feature to this essentially pointless exercise is that the target audience is old enough to read it independently. (Pop-up. 7-11)
