Elements Of Pop Up: A Pop Up Book For Aspiring Paper Engineers (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator), (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Believe it or not, the first known pop-up element in a book appeared in an astrological manuscript in 1306. During the ensuing centuries, movable mechanics were used in more and more books--but only for adults. In the 1700s a British bookseller came up with the idea of illustrating well-known children's stories with movable flaps of paper. The rest, as they say, is history. Now aspiring paper mechanics (creative engineer-artists who create dimensional and movable books, otherwise known as pop-ups) can learn the how-tos and wherefores of this marvelous craft. From tip-ons to dummies to glue knock-outs, all the intricacies of pop-up production are outlined and explained.

Readers are invited to take apart the sample pop-ups (as long as they promise to put them back together!) to determine exactly how each score folds and where each glue point is. Instructions are somewhat advanced, but the dimensional samples and the step-by-step photographic essay on how a pop-up is made will ease the journey. David Carter and James Diaz have each created many, many pop-up books, and are passionate about their trade. So blow the cobwebs out of the geometry corner of your brain, and get to work! (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-Two eminent paper engineers offer a nearly encyclopedic gallery of moving effects, with more than 50 different working models. They are set-when appropriate-on flaps, making the inner workings visible, and include precise design and assembly notes, all sandwiched between a partial history of pop-ups and an artist's-eye view of the production stages of this popular art form. A commanding safety note warns children away from craft knives, and though most of the effects require dexterity and patience to reproduce, the authors have flagged easier projects. All of the models, even the spectacular, full-spread opener, are constructed of white, undecorated stock, but the authors urge aspiring paper engineers to expand the possibilities by experimenting with combined effects or even inventing new ones. Despite some sketchy peripherals-the opening history stops with Jonathan Miller's The Human Body (Viking, 1983)-this book is not only a work of art in itself, but also a practical manual that takes a huge step past Barbara Valenta's Pop-o-mania (Dial, 1997). A link from the authors' and publisher's Web sites leads to reproducible, flat patterns for every tab, tube, cutout, wheel, and cam.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 18 pages
• Publisher: Little Simon; Pop edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689822243
• ISBN-13: 978-0689822247
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,548 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Fear of Popups, December 8, 1999

By	[e-mail] (mancos, co United States) - See all my reviews

I can't even do origami cranes, so when I picked up Elements of Pop Up it was really scary. Inside this volume you'll find a graduate course in how to turn paper into that beloved art form, the popup book. I wish I taught high school art because I'd use this book as the basis of a whole semester's course. The author, David Carter, has done some of my favorite popups (Bugs in a Box, being one). This book proves that true genius is proved by the ability to make the extremely complex simple enough for an idiot like me to understand. After I read it, drooled over the various elements that are taught (by example) I was ready to go get a razor knife and some card stock and give it a try. Other than skiing down hills in Taos, there is nothing scarier for me than following directions on folding and cutting. I tried it with his directions and managed to adequately produce a kind of Forrest Gump version of Robert Sabuda's Movable Mother Goose. If practice makes perfect, then I've got about a thousand years of practice to go, but thanks to David Carter and James Diaz (who lives in my old home town Albuquerque) for making it possible.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Wanna-be pop-up artists, take a look at this!, December 7, 1999

By	kitchen junkie (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

When you first open the cover of this amazing book, you will be ASTOUNDED by the pop-up on the first page - one of the most incredible I've ever seen in a mass-marketed book - and you will immediately want to learn how to do something like that! However, be forewarned: this is NOT a how-to book. You won't be given a tidy list of instructions: "Fold line A, cut at B, join to C, fold and WALLA! A dinosaur!" What you WILL get is all the building blocks you need, in the form of examples of every conceivable type of pop-up mechanism (including ones you've probably never seen before, like neat-o spinning disks), to make incredible pop-ups like the one on the first page. This is more of a pop-up dictionary. It's an amazing overview, and the examples - all of which are neatly arranged into individual categories based on type of pop-up mechanism, and all of which can be taken apart and put back together to explore the mechanics - are inspiring. It's up to your spirit of exploration and creativity to figure out what sort of pop-ups you can create using these ideas. The easiest pop-up folds are marked with an "easy" star (sadly, not too many are "easy," but that's the world of pop-ups for you). I wished that there were clearer directions on the difficult examples, though - some are tricky to figure out just by taking them apart (I wanted to know if I was trying to use a particular fold how I would figure out how much space to leave, how to figure out what to glue first, etc. But there's much to be said for trial and error. I've figured out quite a few already.) Overall, though, it's a great book, and an invaluable resource for budding pop-up artists. I'm very glad I bought it!

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The strength of this book lies in its website, April 28, 2004

By	cmyk (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

Elements of Pop Up is one of the few How To Make Pop-Ups books that features patterns for moving parts like wheel/tab mechanisms, which is why I purchased it. However, don't expect to be able to create anything extrememly fancy with this one. The examples are made of simple shapes that expect the user to expand upon them as necessary--this can be a detriment when you're trying to figure out how to alter the pattern to make something more complicated. The most useful part of the book, ironically, isn't even in the book: it's online at www.popupbooks.com, Carter's website. In the Surprise section, one can download all the patterns for making every example shown. Don't pass up buying the book, though. You'll most likely need Elements of Pop Up at your side to figure out how to assemble all your cut out pieces correctly. If you'd rather follow instructions and complete specific projects, I'd recommend Carter/Diaz's other book, Let's Make It Pop-Up! (ISBN 0-689-86508-2), which has pre-printed pictures and contains projects like Blooming Flower and Huggy Bear.