Sunday, May 8, 2011

Beauty & the Beast: A Pop-Up Book of the Classic Fairy Tale

Written by: Robert Sabuda

First line: There once lived a rich and kind merchant who had six children: three boys and three girls.

Why you should read this book: This insanely impressive pop-up book was clearly a labor of love, with enormous and elaborate three-dimensional illustrations, numerous smaller pop-up pages on each of the big pages, and surprising motion for paper cut-outs: we literally see actions such as Beauty turning the corner as she explores Beast's castle, the magic mirror revealing the scene back home, and the Beast's miraculous transformation. The story recounted is the traditional tale, unblemished by any attempt to update or add a modern message to the text, and balances nicely with the intricacy of the visual aspects of this book. Children will be fascinated by the stunning detail and wish to linger and explore every pop-up.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Children will be fascinated by the stunning details and wish to linger and explore every pop-up, but that doesn't mean that children should be allowed to touch this book, which probably wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of the average inquisitive child.

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