CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 6, 2012
"A possibility for bedtime use, considering the soporific verse and routine (at best) "enhancements." (Novelty. 2-5)"
This insipid ovine litany pairs a monotonous, uninspired rhyme with poorly designed extras and bland scenes of clothed sheep at play.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2012
"The "magic" is on display, but only fitfully, and even when it does work, it often comes off as labored. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 7-11)"
A literal spin through some common optical effects, from moiré patterns and illusory 3-D figures to shadow puppetry and mirror distortions.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2012
"A "jump" tale for the diapered set, startling on first go-through but scary-fun on subsequent visits. (Pop-up/picture book. 3-5)"
Mr. Croc takes a little longer to go to bed than first glances and pulls on the tabs might hint.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 23, 2012
"The frequently distributed buns aren't all that's delicious in this exhilarating suite of variations on a classic. (Pop-up/fractured fairy tale. 5-9)"
A familiar old tale is taken for a terrific spin with more bears, three pigs, assorted woodland animals, space aliens, additional young cast members (including one in a red hood) and lots and lots of sticky buns.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 16, 2012
"A fragile but awesome tribute. (Pop-up/movie tie-in. 7-11, adult)"
Teeming with pop-ups capped by a wonderfully menacing Darth Vader wielding a glowing light saber, this companion to
Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy (2007) makes a memorable keepsake for fans of
The Phantom Menace film and its two sequels.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
"Impressive–but only at first glance. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 4-8)"
A lift-the-flap picture album of birds--memorable for its large, folio trim size at least, if not so much for artistic quality or informational content.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 25, 2012
"Like the song itself, this terrific miniepic bears, and demands, repeating. (Pop-up/nursery rhyme. 4-7) "
Slight of text but ingenious of art and paper engineering, this iteration of the familiar hand rhyme creates a storyline and a humming urban neighborhood in six pop-up spreads.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 25, 2012
"Not entirely trite, as it does feature a biracial couple, but overall, a bland, phoned-in follow-up to a more successful previous outing. (Pop-up/fairy tale. 6-8)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 11, 2012
"A real pleaser for the diapered brigade: bright but not busy, unfussily interactive, predictable but never monotonously so. (Pop-up/counting picture book. 1-3)"
With faultless simplicity Horácek squires viewers from the titular giraffe, "[t]wo striped zebras" and "[t]hree speedy cheetahs" up to "[t]en swimming fish."
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 11, 2012
"An effervescent companion to Maisy's Show (2010). (Pop-up/picture book. 2-5)"
Budding musicians and singers can join in the rehearsals as Maisy gets her band and backup chorus together for a house concert.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 11, 2012
"A quick planetary once-over, more suited to browsing than sustained study but with a level of detail likely to leave children intrigued rather than overwhelmed. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 6-9)"
Mountains, buildings and other landmarks--not to mention the entire Scandinavian peninsula--rise up dramatically as each single-continent spread opens in this dense but legible atlas.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 6, 2012
"Waddell properly trumpets the importance of sharp observational skills, but he doesn't provide budding detectives with much impetus to develop them. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 8-10)"
A superficial look at the basics of criminal forensics and investigation, addressed to young Sherlocks but more likely to draw soul mates of the great detective's resolutely sedate brother Mycroft.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2012
"More playful work from a rare master of abstract design, both rich enough and sturdy enough to support repeat visits. (Pop-up/picture book. 5-10, adult)"
The panjandrum of paper engineering offers six dazzling new constructs--each hiding a handful of small cutouts or printed shapes to find.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2012
"Children who enjoy watching colors at play may be drawn in, and the album also makes a rewarding technical study for developing artists. (Pop-up/picture book. 5-9)"
With help from flaps, slotted wheels and die-cut holes, a frog and, later, a clown named Kasper introduce a weepy snail to the wonders of color shades, blends and combinations.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 14, 2012
"Younger flapoholics are unlikely to absorb much of the content, and older lab rats will do better with more systematic surveys. (Informational novelty. 7-10)"
Lots of flaps and the occasional pull-tab or pop-up don't make these swift passes at chemistry any less superficial.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 7, 2012
"A quick fix for younger dinosaur devotees, from the co-author of the spectacular Encyclopedia Prehistorica (2005-2007). (Pop-up/informational picture book. 4-6)"
Making up in drama for what it lacks in numbers, this slender paperbound gallery of dinos features pop-up or pull-tab surprises on each of its five spreads.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 7, 2012
"Insipid. (Pop-up/picture book. 4-7)"
A candy-coated burst of high-fructose goo, saturated with pink and equipped with pop-ups on every page.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2012
"Perhaps not the best choice for naptime or bedtime (bwa ha ha), but certain to elicit audience demand for multiple re-reads and sturdy enough to stand up to them. (Novelty picture book. 4-7)"
Tactile terrors await anyone intrepid enough to insert little hands into the raised pockets of this nighttime ramble.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: July 10, 2012
"A small gem, elegantly simple from patterned text to creatively engineered moving parts. (Pop-up/concept book. 2-4)"
A smiling square demonstrates eight pairs of opposites thanks to a sturdy array of pull-tabs, nested flaps and pop-ups.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2012
"Curiously uninvolving, but it may get children to thinking about stuff and maybe inventing some gizmos of their own. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 5-7)"
Early humans about 3 million years ago had "no things," and Layton wants to show us how they--we--got them.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2012
"Next to the magisterial pop-up Aesop's Fables of Kees Moerbeck et al. (2011), not to mention the plethora of livelier non–pop-up collections, an also-ran. (Pop-up/fables. 6-8)"
Seven fables are blandly retold, accompanied by unambitious pop-ups likely to spark only fleeting moments of attention from readers.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2012
"A good "starter" version, though younger children may need some prodding to see how silly the whole premise is. (Pop-up/fairy tale. 6-9)"
The ever-popular (and controversial) "princess" test gets a handsome retelling amid a series of large-scale tableaux.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2012
"A superfluous alternative to real clothes. (Instructional board book. 4-6)"
A big button, a short zipper, a pair of small side-release buckles and other types of fasteners may keep little fingers busy "helping" a wolf dress for school, but the accompanying pictures, storyline and swatches of fabric are only a vehicle for the dry goods.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 27, 2012
"An affectionate tribute to a great American songsmith as well as an impressionistic snapshot of a land made for you and me, fitted out with appropriately homespun movable parts. (Pop-up/picture book. 5-8)"
A canine family takes a road trip across the United States, with the titular song's cheerful nonsense for a soundtrack.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 22, 2012
"A grand panorama, though because the geography is, to say the least, creative and the stately buildings are barely even a representative sampling of what London has to offer, this is more a keepsake than a tourist's guide. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 6-10)"
Deucedly clever paper engineering allows young visitors to spin the London Eye, raise Tower Bridge for a ship's passage and more in this spit-spot tour along the Thames.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 13, 2012
"Though most of professional magic's last 100 years pull a vanishing act, a beguiling mix of wonders and practical advice. (bibliography, many detachable or already detached pieces) (Novelty/nonfiction. 10 & up)"
Leaving no square inch of page space unpurposed, the latest in the 'Ology series wraps directions for over two dozen simple sleight-of-hand tricks in thick skeins of history and mystery.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2012
"Not to mention the absence of more than a hint that there might be a certain amount of work involved. (Pop-up/picture book. 5-7)"
Kightley recasts Emily's Ice Dancing Show (2010) as a ballet school triumph—changing her main character's hair color but keeping the sparkles on the cover and most of the movable effects.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2012
"A quick buzz through buggy biology, equally suitable for reading or exhibition. (Pop-up/informational picture book. 4-6)"
Six big—really big—bugs rise in extreme close-up from the spreads of this uneven but arresting early introduction to insects and arachnids.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2012
"There are dozens of ways to lace shoes, but even for the most fashion-conscious preschoolers, this makes a good first step. (Instructional pop-up/board book. 3-5)"
For footwear DIYers, an elementary hands-on exercise with a long purple and yellow lace, holes punched through multiple bright, simple cartoon scenes and, to the side, a pop-up cardstock sneaker for further practice.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2012
"Wrapped in flimsy covers held shut with an elastic band, this has a homemade look that may draw DIYers--but all in all, it's a familiar tale told yet again. (Pop-up/nonfiction. 8-11)"
For
Titanic completists, a standard account of the ship's building and sinking enhanced by pop-ups and capped by a model to be assembled from several dozen punch-out pieces.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 10, 2012
"A corner flap opens to the resolution, in which the Once-ler passes the last Truffula seed and the responsibility for nurturing it on to the next generation. Good luck, Gen Z. (Pop-up/picture book. 6-9)"
Though looking a little tightly packed in just eight spreads, Dr. Seuss's cautionary environmental fable takes on fresh energy (and urgency) thanks to Carter's simple but large-scale pop-ups.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2012
"While this pop-up version adds little to Puff's enduring charm, at least it does not distract. (Pop-up/picture book. 3-6)"
