Fun With Pop-Up Books

Most of us had favorite books as children, and a lot of my favorites were pop-up books! Remember how much fun it was to actually interact with a book and to have a surprise on each page? As much fun as it is to read pop-ups, it's equally exciting to make them and understand how they work. There are many web sites that deal with and offer pop-up books for sale, and I've listed a few of them throughout this article. I hope you'll take the time to look them up and revisit your childhood through the magic of pop-up books!

The History of Pop-Up Books

As popular as pop-up books are with children, the first pop-ups (or "mechanical" books) were originally invented for more serious purposes. There's no record of who actually inserted the first mechanical device in a book, but one of the earliest examples was produced in the 13th century by a well-known mystic and poet named Ramon Llull of Majorca who used a revolving disc (known as a volvelle) to better illustrate his theories. Volvelles have since been used for such interesting and diverse purposes as teaching anatomy, making astronomical predictions, creating secret code, and telling fortunes. According to Ann Montanaro's web site (http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rulib/s...), it wasn't until the 18th century that these moveable parts were added to books designed for children's entertainment. Jump to her web site to learn more details about the fascinating history of the pop-up!

Pop-Up Tutorials

There is a surprisingly small number of web sites that offer advice and step-by-step instruction for making pop-up books. This is a great site I found for online browsing:

Joan Irvine http://www.dreamscape.com/pdverhey/

Joan is the self-procalimed "pop-up lady" and seems to really enjoy making these fun types of books! Check out her web site for simple instruction and information about workshops she gives in the Canada and other countries.

Books about Pop-Ups

These book (with links to amazon.com) are great for learning about how to make pop-ups:

"How to Make Super Pop-Ups" by Joan Irvine

According to the card catalog, this book provides instructions for making a variety of paper pop-ups, including animals, boats, robots, and enormous pop-ups for the stage. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

"How to Make Pop-Ups" is also by Joan Irvine

I own this book, and it's great for basic instruction using materials found in most people's homes. It also includes instruction on how to make pop-up cards and sculptures! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

"Paper Engineering for Pop-Up Books and Cards" by Mark Hiner

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

"Paper Mania: How to Create your Own Pop-Ups" by Barbara Valenta

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