| Children's column - a plethora of pop-ups |
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| Children's |
| Written by Nicolette Jones |
| Thursday, 20 November 2008 17:33 |
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Among the pop-up books being published for Christmas, Nicolette Jones writes, are the following: Inventions: Pop-Ups from the Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci (Walker); The Gruffalo Pop-up Theatre Book (Macmillan); Jan Pienkowski and David Walser’s Pop-Up Nutcracker (Puffin); Robert Sabuda’s Pop-Up Peter Pan (Simon & Schuster); Marion Bataille’s ABC3D (Bloomsbury); Adam Stower and Nick Denchfield’s Diary of a Monster-Catcher (Scholastic); Francesca Crespi’s Pop-Up Book of Christmas Carols (Frances Lincoln); Christmas Is Coming: A Pop-Up Celebration (Templar);
Robert Crowther’s Ships (Walker); Commander Nova’s Pop-Up Alien Space Station by Nick Denchfield and Steve Cox (Macmillan); Cosmic: The flashing, exploding, 3-D guide to stars and planets (DK); Richard Platt and David Hawcock’s Moon Landing (Walker); and the Horrible Histories Terrible Tomb of Tutankhamun by Terry Deary, Martin Brown and (again) Nick Denchfield (Scholastic). This tide leads me to reflect on the genre. The pop-up is a metaphor for all stories: when we read, from between the covers something surprising, something bigger than the book, always emerges. In the mind's eye, it is in 3-D. Flat pictures also show three dimensions, ever since the invention of perspective. So a pop-up is, arguably, a tautology - a bringing to life of something already brought to life by words or images. It may even contradict the essence of reading, suggesting to children that what emerges from two-dimensional pages is not enough. On the other hand, as objects, as paper sculptures, pop-ups can be impressive and ingenious. Michael Dawson, for one, former collector and dealer at Ampersand Books, recognises their value as works of art (see www.ampersandbooks.co.uk, though the Ludlow-based collection and business were sold in April to Stella and Rose’s books, www.stellabooks.com). Perhaps pop-ups are more appreciated by adult collectors than by children. Certainly, say, ABC3D seems better suited to a coffee table than a primary classroom. Pop-ups have the element of surprise on their side, like jack-in-the-boxes, and so have impact when opened as gifts. But do they last? Do children treasure and lose themselves in them? (I do know of one child who slept with a favourite pop-up under her pillow.) Or are they often, on second reading, like a joke with a punch line you have already heard? And what is the perfect age between young enough to enjoy them and old enough not to tear them to bits? These I hope are questions that publishers of pop-up books can answer. But there is another question for the trade: how are they displayed in bookshops? There is always the extra expense of a display copy if they are shown open. But do booksellers have the space? Are they being wasted, spine-out? Please send us photos of your best bookshop pop-up displays for Christmas. There are, after all, plenty of books to choose from.
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Comments (1)
  written by Nicolette Jones, November 25, 2008
Michael Dawson has asked me to make it clear that his business has been sold but he still has the collection, and indeed continues to add to it and offer access to the 2000 or so items to students, researchers and enthusiasts.
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