Burt, Rob, and Michael Wells. The Beatles Musical Pop-Up. Illus. Mike Peterkin and Pete Campbell. New York: Bonanza Pop Up; London: Brown Wells and Jacobs, 1985.

Contemporary Pop-ups and Movables: a Renaissance II

As popular cultural icons, the Beatles deserve a royal pop-up treatment. The expense and complexity of pop-up productions limit the number of celebrities who will share such paper stages with the Fab Four.

Miller, Jonathan. The Human Body. Illus. Harry Willock. New York: Viking, 1983.

The use of layered movable works to display and discuss human anatomy has early precedents, as we see in Philips' anatomy books in the main section. This contemporary version reveals the unseen structure of the body in great detail.

Meer, Ron van der, and Alan McGowan. Sailing Ships. Illus. Borje Svensson. New York: Viking Penguin, 1984.

The dramatic shape of the Windjammer, four-masted and towering against an orange sky, exemplifies why ships invite pop-up recreations. This book teaches children about various sailing vessels, but its beautiful artwork makes it so much more than a textbook.

Pienkowski, Jan. Haunted House. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1979.

The festive cartoon quality of Pienkowski's Haunted House makes anyone want to live among these monsters. It is no surprise that Jan Pienkowski won the Kate Greenaway Medal for this book in 1979, an award for the best children's book illustration in England.

National Geographic Society. Creatures of Long Ago: Dinosaurs. Illus. John Sibbick. N.p.: National Geographic Society, 1988.

For more than a decade, the National Geographic Society published two books a year in a series of educational and entertaining pop-ups. The thematic choice of dinosaurs makes this book a favorite with most children.

Sabuda, Robert. The Christmas Alphabet. New York: Orchard Books, 1994.

As we open each lettered door, we are invited to celebrate Christmas. The beauty of this book stems from its elegance and simplicity. Robert Sabuda elevates the art of cut paper, making each pop-up hover in all whiteness above the page. He merely suggests each image, inviting the operator to fill in the details.