Customer Reviews

The Night Before Christmas Pop-up

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Night Before Christmas," is Mr. Sabuda's pop-up version of Clement Clarke Moore's classic tale of Santa's visit on Christmas Eve. The phrasing has been altered; still the story is the same, except mice play the human roles. It is a delightful rendition that will appeal to both the young and old alike.

Different from any other pop-up book I've seen, the backgrounds in Mr. Sabuda's books are generally solid in nature with white pop-up's that are often accented with color. This makes a wonderful contrast of positive and negative space that is unusual, and unexpected yet, striking. In this book, the artist has added more color to the pop-ups than in his earlier holiday works. Creatively conceived, the detailed execution of the pop-ups is what REALLY captures the viewer's attention, and carries this book. They are SO fantastic I have to continually remind myself it is only paper. For instance, when Santa calls out to the reindeer, "No, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! . . ." all eight reindeer literally fly off the page in sleigh formation with Santa trailing behind. It's brilliant! In addition, the finale is gorgeous! It is nearly an all-white scene with Santa in his sleigh, bidding adieu to a quaint little neighborhood down below. The backdrop displays a snow-capped mountain with a pull-tab that allows the viewer to draw Santa and his reindeer across the sky, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."

"The Night Before Christmas," is a hardbound book that measures 8 ¼" x 8 ¼" x 1 ½". Highly imaginative, both conceptually and artistically this book will make a valued addition to any Christmas collection. CAREFUL, young one's will be mesmerized by the pop-up action, and will want to grab. Probably best for children four-years and up.

What a wonderful book! I am totally amazed at the intricate pop-ups! What a feat of engineering! Mice play the roles normally attributed to people, and that is a whimsical touch. The pop-ups are done primarily in white, but touches of red, green, and shiny silver are used throughout the book. The reindeer burst off the page in one pop-up, and the village at the end is just beautiful. I intend to buy another one of these books. I will use one at Christmas in my library, and I will keep another in my book collection.

A got started on collecting pop-up books when I encountered a book by Robert Sabuda called "Twelve days of Christmas". It was an astounding book, quite unusual in that it was mostly white. The engineering was amazing. That book led me to buy and collect pop books of which Robert Sabuda's books occupy a high place indeed. His work stands out due to its complexity and yet has the ability to surprise and delight. Each popup in this book is nigh near what is impossible to do out of paper and yet he has done it. The last scene with the little village spread out in a snowy wonderland is a treasure. I will have to buy an another book, just so I can put one away and have one to look at admire and play.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is this year's Sabuda masterpiece to be added to his growing list of amazing works. To go along with Clement Moore's famous poem, Sabuda gives us eleven gorgeous, complex pop-ups that really DO pop up. At the same time, it's really rather elegant. Most of the pop-ups are in simple white with silver embellishments. This is SO much fun! Santa and the reindeer quite literally jump right out at you. Look for subtle things, like the minute hand moving on the clock, and the window shade going up. And at the end you get a whole little village. WARNING: This book is NOT toddler-proof. This is a work of art. By all means, share it with the children. They'll love it! But keep it just far enough away from their eager fingers. Do NOT miss this one!

No, only kidding, this is of course a super book for your kids and you. I recently bought my first Robert Sabuda book, the 'The 12 Days of Christmas' (ISBN 0689808658) and it is an amazing pop-up creation. What really pleased me was the half page flap on each right-hand page, so as well as a pop-up on each spread there is another to discover underneath this flap, twelve pop-ups in all.

The 'Night Before Christmas' book is even more dazzling and I bet it pushes to the limit what is possible with a mass-market pop-up book. The format is the same as '12 Days' (though there is no flap on the sixth spread) but it is more creative, just wait till you open spread three and eight reindeer don't just pop up they jump towards you at the same time, spread five has Santa popping up and above the top of the book. The last spread is the most ambitious, a little village arises, with six cottages and background clouds, pull a tab and Santa (printed on clear plastic) travels across a snowy gap in the clouds. The book is printed in flat graphic colors and there is a clever use of white card stuck on itself to create additional three-dimensional effects.

Sabuda is to be congratulated on creating some stunning paper magic that really does have to be seen to be believed. Children (and grown-ups) with a sense of wonder will find this pop-up book quite enchanting!

I just gave this to a mother of a 2 and 4 year old.

You would think I gave her gold. She just loved it.

She was just amazed at every page.

This book is FANTASTIC!! I bought it for my grandkids and kept it for myself.

Every time we open this book, we gasp. We have looked at it dozens, if not hundreds, of times and the amazement never wears off. We take it with us when we visit friends and family so they can gasp with us.

Robert Sabuda is a gifted, gifted man. These pop-ups (and the others he's done) are astonishing. My first-grade class literally gasped, oohed and aahed as I turned each new page. They ask me to read the pop-up books at least once a week. And, I read them myself even after the kids have gone home for the day. What a treasure these books are!

WOW!, This book is a master peice of art and wonder. I play Santa Claus for enjoyment and the response I received this year was unbeivable from young to old. Each page would come to life before the audience I would read too. The breath taking response was overwheling to me. This book is in a catagory of it's own! The joy of those who encountered this book every time I would read it, made it worth while EVERY time. If you buy it, you will NOT be disapointed.