Take a classic and tragic tale of unrequited love, and
combine it with the talents of the man known as “the Prince of Pop-Ups.” And –
voila! – you’ve got a beautiful, unique holiday gift: “The Little Mermaid: A
Pop-Up Adaptation of the Classic Fairy Tale,” created by Robert Sabuda.
Now this
isn’t the kind of book you’d present to a young child, given the complex paper
engineering that makes it come to life and the story’s rather bitter ending –
not to mention the $29.99 price tag. But “The Little Mermaid” is, without
question, a stunner of a pop-up book, and it makes a great gift for kids old
enough to be careful with it, and maybe even interested in how Sabuda makes his
magic happen.
As usual,
Sabuda includes a large pop-up on each two-page spread, and then smaller
pop-ups set into small booklets set into a corner on the spread. The final
large pop-up, a scene of the prince’s marriage, is particularly memorable.
Throughout the book, the strong black lines and jewel-tone watercolors of
Sabuda’s artwork really bring alive the world of the story, which was, of
course, originally written by that fairy tale master, Hans Christian Andersen.
To get a
better sense of the pop-up mastery shown by Sabuda in “The Little Mermaid,”
check out this video created by his publisher, Simon & Schuster.
Sabuda also has a great website. Here he
shares directions for making pop-ups, like this seasonally appropriate snowman,
as well as a link to the Movable Book Society
and recommendations for those looking for paper engineers.
And for even more inspiration, take a look at this time-lapse video showing
Sabuda creating a pop-up flower.
(Note: my
review is based on a copy of “The Little Mermaid: A Pop-Up Adaptation of the
Classic Fairy Tale” that was provided by Simon & Schuster for review
purposes).
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