Peter pops up, part two

When I say more recent pop-up books include bells and whistles, I mean actual bells. The jacket copy on this version, with art by Paul Hess, says "with sound," and it does not lie. Big Ben starts chiming when you open the book, and each sound runs as long as it's programmed, even if you close the covers. This can be unsettling.

Seagulls, water, and pirate laughter, if you're wondering. I think it's the most evocative theme in the book, but I hear kids like Big Ben the best.

Robert Sabuda's version taught me to buy pop-up books new whenever possible. I might figure out some sort of art project to do with the worn-out book containing illustrations which, sadly, no longer pop up.

Note how cleverly I have propped the book open for photographing with the deck for a card game called, appropriately enough, Stowaway. (Weirdly enough, too, given that I found it at a comic store as I was buying the Hook issue of the Grimm's Fairy Tales Presents: Neverland comics.)

I am unable to ignore that sometimes art quality takes backstage to the novelty of three-dimensional presentation. Visit Part One of this topic for evidence.But such is not the case with Nicola Robinson's Peter Pan. It was released just last year, so finding a new copy isn't a challenge.

Each art spread has a tab on each side that opens out, like so...

...to take you quite literally into the center of the charming Gorey-esque drawings. Not only am  I very happy with this addition to my collection, I absolutely recommend visiting Robinson's site to see more of her work.