The Barnes & Noble Review
Robert Sabuda, the master of pop-ups, has again returned with a Christmas book that's simply breathtaking. This time, he's engineered Clement Clarke Moore's beloved classic holiday poem, The Night Before Christmas.
In six luxurious spreads, with flaps that hide even more pop-ups, Sabuda has brought St. Nick's Christmas Eve visit to life. Each of the spreads has a strong matte-colored background, with pop-ups that effectively use stark white in combination with primary colors, reminiscent of his popular The Christmas Alphabet. With the opening line, " 'Twas the night before Christmas...," a clock unfolds, revealing a mouse springing to life and the clock's hands moving to midnight. Open the flap, and three little mice sleeping in bed have wheels turning behind their heads, showing "visions of sugarplums" dancing in their heads. Other impressive pop-ups include a team of eight reindeer jumping out of the page toward the reader with Santa in tow, a flap that shows St. Nick coming down the chimney with a bound, and the finale: A little white and powder-blue town unfolds, with a pull-tab that lets Kris Kringle sail merrily through the clouds overhead.
If you loved Sabuda's previous work, including The Wizard of Oz, you'll adore this new Christmas treasure. The pop-ups themselves are bold and amazing, using movements that impress with each turn of the page. Ideal for gift giving to anyone who appreciates paper engineering and stunning artwork, The Night Before Christmas will knock your stockings off just in time to hang them on the mantel. One not to miss. Matt Warner
K Up-Ingenious paper engineering sets off the well-known poem to fresh advantage in this arresting presentation. With his signature use of white paper and flaps revealing movable parts and pop-ups, Sabuda offers surprises on every page. A mouse watches the big hand of a clock strike midnight, the team of reindeer plunges dramatically toward readers, Santa's feet are seen springing up from the fireplace an instant before his head emerges from the chimney. In the final scene, an entire village, all in white, stands up on the page and, with the pull of a tab, Santa's sleigh streaks across a starlit sky. As with The Christmas Alphabet (Orchard, 1994), clever techniques, original design, and a unique graphic style set this work apart from most movable books. Due to its fragile nature, libraries may wish to keep it for displays, storytimes, and as an example of the pop-up at its most striking, rather than for circulation.-S. P. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
