From Fairies and Magical Creatures (2008), the rock stars of the pop-up world move on to deities in volume two of their Encyclopedia Mythologica. Egyptian, Greek (the Romans are elided), Norse, Asian and New World mythologies (Africa is entirely ignored) each receive the duo's customary dazzling, perfunctory treatment. A giant central pop-up (Anubis, Olympus, a pretty fabulous hammering Thor, etc.) serves as a focal point, while folios to the side contain additional, smaller pop-ups and brief character sketches or stories. While the impulse toward comprehensiveness is essentially praiseworthy, the package might have been stronger if they had limited themselves more. The coverage of Asian, Oceanic and North and South American mythoses is so scant it only serves to diminish the subject and confuse readers. Now, an entire book on the 12 labors of Heracles—that would have been mighty cool indeed. (Pop-up. 8-12)
