Popping up all over

Press, 6 December 1983, Page 2 (Supplement)

Popping up all over

The range of pop-up children’s books increases each year with more lavish technology, more special effects and more fun for both children and the adults who read to them.

This Christmas pop-ups, pull-outs, see-through and turn-arounds cover the field, from a fascinating and somewhat grisly expose of the human body, suitable for older children, to a whimsical edition of excerpts from the classic Wind in the Willows. One of the most beautiful and interesting of the new books is Nature’s Hidden

World, a book that comes alive as animals, birds and insects are discovered in highly detailed illustrations. Frogs jump, a spider rushes out to grab its dinner, a chrysalis changes into a beautiful butterfly and many hidden creatures are revealed in logs or under leaves in a book that is a real work of art.

The Human Body carries the learning potential of pop-up books a stage further, with detailed information on the structure and function of a variety of organs and systems that range from the head and the

sensory organs to the lungs, joints and muscles. The text is simple and written to appeal to children, using similes and associations with which they can relate: the skeleton is a scaffold, the life support system is a space mission.

The diagrams, all in full colour, pop up, fold out and move in a variety of ways to make a heart beat, lungs breathe and muscles contract. A little more expensive than average at $17.95 the book should prove a worthwhile investment for children who are interested in how their bodies work.