Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book [Board book]

Rufus Butler Seder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 2007 | Age Range: 8 and up

There's never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.

A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!

Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The pictures of animals, birds and fish seem to move with extraordinary naturalism… [The animals] are mesmerizing for all ages, especially for aspiring artists who will want to know how it's done."
—New York Times Book Review (New York Times Book Review)

"Readers will gasp with delight when they open this book, produced as paper-over-board: a hidden tab in each heavy page slides an acetate layer printed with vertical black lines over an encoded, detailed image of a horse, rooster, turtle or other creature, and the layers' interaction creates the illusion of motion. The black-and-white images openly reference the motion photography of Eadweard Muybridge (an influence that Seder acknowledges on the copyright page) and they contrast with the bright palette used for the spare, reader-directed text. ("Can you soar like an eagle?/ Whoosh-whoosh-glide!/ Can you swing like a chimp?/ Swoop-swoop-slide!") This book may encourage plenty of galloping—and jumping, running and bounding—on the part of young readers; adults will find it a marvel to look at in its own right."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review (Publishers Weekly)

"Gallop, by Rufus Butler Seder, made an obvious case for itself with ooh-ah graphics, using trademarked Scanimation, a low-tech marvel of sliding paper and stripes. Turn the page, and you set black-and-white pictures of various animals into motion - that is, if certain short people ever let you turn the page. Your kids will elbow you out of the way. They will also elbow each other out of the way."
—The Washington Post (The Washington Post)

"At first glance, this looks like a regular old picture book—but the second you open it up, you'll be mesmerized. Thanks to a brand-new technique called "scanimation," the images on each page seem to move, as though you were watching a film instead of simply reading. Horses gallop, eagles soar—and young readers' jaws drop! It's the coolest book we've seen in a while."
—www.parenting.com, "Daily Favs" (Parenting.com)

About the Author

Rufus Butler Seder is an optical genius whose first significant invention was Lifetiles, glass-walled murals that appear to come to life when the viewer walks by. He’s installed them at the Smithsonian, SeaWorld, Union Station, and other museums, aquariums, train stations, and ocean liners around the world. Next came Scanimation, and his company EyeThink, Inc., a business that produces a line of toys and gifts using technologies he’s invented. Mr. Seder lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Board book: 12 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (November 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761147632
• ISBN-13: 978-0761147633
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art

More About the Author

Rufus Butler Seder is the inventor of Lifetiles, glass-tiled murals that appear to come to life when the viewer walks by; he's installed them at the Smithsonian, Sea World, Union Station, and other museums, aquariums, train stations, and ocean liners around the world. He is also the founder of EyeThink, Inc., a company that develops and produces a line of toys and gifts using the technologies he's invented. Mr. Seder lives in Boston.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Creative November 23, 2007

By Ahinahina

Format:Board book

I was in Borders children's department and a little girl was fascinated with this book. She kept moving the page back and forth. I watched her a minute and then asked her the name of the book. I was so captivated with this new (to me) technology that I bought 'Gallop!' for my one-year-old grandson. He is not too young for it and he loves it. He is a careful child. 'Gallop!' is like a flip book, but the pages don't flip, yet the animals move. 'Gallop!' is a very clever and very creative book.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Coolest book I've ever seen! November 28, 2007

By E. Patterson

Format:Board book

I recent found this book in a gift store in PA and was absolutely amazed to see how the animals move in a lifelike fashion. At first I thought it must be battery operated but as the book has no power source, I discovered that the pictures move in a high tech version of a flip book. You have got to see this to believe it! Everyone who I've shown it to has been astounded! You can't go wrong with this for the holidays. Any child would love it!!!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure fire gift idea! December 3, 2007

By mojwmom

Format:Board book

Any 2-5 year old (and their parents) will love this book. The neat thing about Gallop! (other than the "magically" moving animals) is what it teaches to those tender young readers, that books can be such a delight inside! Little kids will love to turn the pages to see the next animal run, walk or gallop across the page.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing at first! June 13, 2008

By S. Jorgenson

Format:Board book

We checked this out from the library ... it was sitting on a shelf and my 4 year old picked it up and WOW! We were mesmerized! But after getting home and reading it once through to them - I was disappointed in the text. It wasn't a pleasure to read - and I find that really important and I spend nearly all day reading to my 4 children! So while the amazing movement in the book was really cool, I am not sure if I'll be buying this because I don't want it to just take up space on our shelves.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating! November 13, 2007

By C. M. White

Format:Board book

I bought this as a birthday present for a 6 year old girl and initially thought that it might be better suited for a younger child because of the simple wording in the text. The moving pictures are so fascinating however that it is hard to put down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book! January 2, 2008

By C. Gruver VINE™ VOICE

Format:Board book

This book is delightful and intriguing! Based upon a very small statistical sampling(!), it seems that adults like it more than small children, perhaps because adults expect to be able to 'figure out' how the pictures can move via the technology being used -- while small children live in a world that they do not expect to understand fully.

It seems as if the technology should generate no more than two images for each page -- too few to create the 'experience' of a mini-movie, but somehow it works. The movement looks like old-fashioned nickelodeon-type movies, or when the author has put an evolving picture on the outside edge of the pages of his book, and you thumb through the page to see the 'monkey climb the tree' (or whatever is displayed).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very neat book! December 21, 2007

By M. Mendoza

Format:Board book

We found this book in Toys R Us and it is such a cool book! I still haven't been able to quite figure out how it works because the pictures show such a range of motion I wouldn't think possible. Both my 3 year old and 1 year old look at it over and over again! I've brought it in to work to show (and recommend to other parents) and they're just as astounded by it! I would definitely recommend it - you won't be disappointed!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun for All Ages! December 14, 2007

By Jewels

Format:Board book

Wow! I found this while browsing at my local bookstore--this book is AMAZING! I picked one up for my mother-in-law, who is a teacher and I am scanning my Christmas list to see who else I can buy one for. This book will really impress kids as well as adults!

Each page features an image that truly looks as though it is being electronically produced, but of course in reality the motion is a result of "Scanimation." No batteries, no wires, nothing to plug in. This is such a great book in this age of digital everything--good old fashioned fun!