Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Encyclopedia Mythologica
Introducing a dazzling new series premiere! The world’s pop-up masters invite you to peek inside the fairy realm as it transforms before your eyes.
Open this entrancing book and meet Shakespeare’s Queen Titania, springing up with her silver wings aflutter. Further on, a crystalline elfin castle rises into the clouds, not far from some scary hobgoblins and trolls. And on a truly stunning spread, a humanoid magical tree spreads its branches to reveal a face within its foliage, while flowers unfold and rearrange their petals, turning into flower fairies. Visiting mythical beings around the world, from household brownies to the merfolk lurking deep below the sea, this breathtaking 3-D book, brimming with facts and fancy, will hold humans of all ages in its spell.
"* "In the case of books by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, what you're seeing is more like a sculpture than a piece of card." Junior"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Matthew Christian Reinhart was born September 21, 1971 to Gary and Judith Reinhart in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The son of a farmer, his father Gary joined the Navy to become jet fighter pilot, and so the family moved around the country, from Florida to Texas to Illinois to California to Virginia and then South Carolina. Gary wanted to be more than a pilot (which was pretty amazing itself) so he went on to Dental School and studied to be an oral surgeon. Judith and Matthew followed along, and soon to be joined by his mischievous little sister, Erin. Often times, Gary's training took him to places they couldn't follow (even on aircraft carriers), so Judy took charge. Matthew's childhood was filled with good times and very happy memories overall, thanks to his family. Art was always a tremendously huge part of Matthew's young life. Drawing pictures and making crafts were his favorite activities, in school and out. Matthew drew whenever and wherever he got the chance. His school notebooks often had more drawings than notes! He loved drawing and reading about all creatures and animals so much, he drew them everywhere! Dinosaurs, like about every kid on the planet, were his absolute favorite to draw and Matthew could rattle off the name of every single one before learning to add or subtract. As he got older, Matthew was captivated by the movie STAR WARS. The richness of the universe George Lucas created on the screen fueled his young imagination, inspiring countless sketchbooks filled with monsters, spaceships, and action heroes. Like most high school graduates, Matthew wasn't completely focused on a career. He was unaware he could make a living being an artist. Like most doctors' children, his father convinced him to study biology to prepare for medical school. College life at Clemson University was busy and fun for Matthew, but he was never really satisfied. Medicine was not his true calling. Along with his required biology courses, Matthew snuck in a few art classes, and built up a bit of a portfolio. After graduating Cum Laude from Clemson, he took a year off before medical school and moved to New York, where he met Robert Sabuda and they began doing volunteer work together. Robert's book, Christmas Alphabet had just released to rave reviews, and persuaded Matthew follow his calling by attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. With his parents' blessing and support, Matthew enrolled as an industrial design (with a concentration in toy design) student the following year. Pratt was fantastic, eye opening experience for him, though his initial dreams of being a toy designer soon transformed into paper engineer- with the help of Mr. Sabuda. After working with Robert on books like "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", "A B C Disney" and "Movable Mother Goose". Matthew made his first big break into the pop-up world with "The Pop Up Book Of Phobias". Other books followed, including both collaborations with Robert Sabuda, including their trilogy of "Encyclopedia Prehistorica" books and renowned illustrator Maurice Sendak on the New York Times best-selling "Mommy?", and also even solo pop-up projects like "The Ark", "Animal Popposites", "The Jungle Book", "Cinderella" and his dream-of-all-dream projects, "STAR WARS: Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy", "The Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes". His latest series, "Encyclopedia Mythologica", includes "Fairies & Magical Creatures" and the newly-released "Gods & Heroes". In honor of the 75th Anniversary of DC COMICS, Matthew has created a massive pop-up celebration titled "DC COMICS Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book", to be released in Fall 2010. He continues to work and live in New York City, cutting, taping and folding paper into intricate, moving sculptures.
This review is from: Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures Pop-Up (Hardcover)
Length:: 1:37 Mins
This book lives up to the standard that Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda have set with first rate pop-up engineering. Every page has a central pop-up that is beautiful and interesting. Each page is further embellished with a minimum of two corner pull-outs that are also pop-ups in themselves with history as to the folklore of fairies. From this perspective, it is top notch.
The area where I was a little disappointed was in the history of the fairies themselves. It starts out interesting enough explaining that fairies appear in the legends of every continent. But it tends to focus on the darker aspects of the folklore. I've never researched the history of fairies, but I prefer to think of them as benevolent beings. Most of the stories focused on their pranks and the misfortune they can bring. The final corner pullout talked about the English girls who supposedly played with fairies and set up a camera to catch them on film. It was a well publicized case because it was later exposed as a hoax. They had used cuts out from an old children's catalog. The girls admitted their prank but claimed that one photograph was authentic.
I loved the artwork and pop-ups, but the actual text made me feel creepy sometimes, and in the end, sort of sad. While I will show it to my children, I will use my own words to describe the fairy world. If you're really into pop-up books, this is worth adding to your collection, but if your true interest is the lighter side of fairies, I prefer the pop-up book How to Find Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker.
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This review is from: Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures Pop-Up (Hardcover)
Mr. Reinhart is a genius, no doubt about it. In this book there are dimensional fairies peeking from foliage, brownies hiding in corners, and trolls waiting to create trouble for passers-by. Some figures "magically" transform from one thing to another, just as we might imagine them to do in fairy tales. I give it only four stars because the engineering falls just a little short of the "wow" factor, and the text is somewhat depressing. Nonetheless, this and the Limited Edition version will certainly remain in my collection to be enjoyed for years to come.
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This review is from: Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures Pop-Up (Hardcover)
This book is beautiful. Not only do you have the larger pop-ups that spring to life when you turn the page, but there are also several mini pop-up pages within a page. The artistry is beautiful, and the pop-ups can be viewed from different angles to see different parts of the picture (unlike traditional pop-ups that are designed to be viewed from one reading angle only).
I disagree with Amazon and/or the publisher (not sure who is to blame for this) about the appropriate age/grade range. It's listed on the product page as for ages 4-8 and grades 1-6. It's definitely NOT for preschoolers. The mini pop-ups are too hard for little hands to open, plus it's too delicate. Additionally, the text is more appropriate for elementary or older kids. I actually think this would be best as a gift for a pre-teen, teenager, and young-at-heart adult who loves fairies. I purchased my copy for someone in her 60s who I know will love it!
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