THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA POP-UP
based on the books by C. S. Lewis
pop-ups by Robert Sabuda
illustrated by Matthew Armstrong
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061176128
Ages 5-up
14 pages

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA pop-up book begins with a roar --- almost literally. In a two-page spread that chronicles the creation of Narnia, a splendid Aslan the lion practically leaps off the page as planets swirl and flowers and plants burst into life. It's a magnificent beginning to this superb pop-up overview of Lewis's novels, with paper engineering by Robert Sabuda.

Each of Lewis's novels is given a full two-page spread, dominated by one or more fantastical, multi-dimensional pop-up creation. For THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, for example, a sailing ship, complete with sails and rigging, bursts off the page as the mouse Reepicheep declares his courage. In other pages, fierce battles rage, a horse bounds across the landscape and a whole parade of beloved Narnia characters seem to march right out of the pages toward the reader --- and toward Aslan's Country.

The text accompanying each pop-up creation is spare, reducing the summary of each novel's plot to a handful of sentences. For example, the perennial favorite THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE is summed up as follows: "Many years later, four children enter the wardrobe and discover the snow-covered land of Narnia. They meet all kinds of magical creatures, but they find danger, too. The White Witch rules now, making it always winter but never Christmas. With Aslan's help, they break the Witch's spell and become great Kings and Queens."

This textual brevity is entirely fitting given the audience for this book, which certainly will be made up primarily of Narnia aficionados who will eagerly anticipate Sabuda's interpretation of their favorite novels. And what an interpretation it is. On the pages I've quoted above, snow-covered trees and menacing icy towers rise up majestically above pages that sparkle like new-fallen snow, where Mr. Tumnus the faun holds up his umbrella and four children emerge from a wardrobe when the reader opens a secret flap. Fans of Lewis's novels will be thrilled to find them come to life in this new way.

For years, I've given Robert Sabuda's classic pop-ups, from THE CHRISTMAS ALPHABET to THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, as holiday presents to family and friends young and old. This year, I know I will be giving his latest masterpiece as a gift. For fans of Lewis's classic children's books, devotees of paper engineering or those who just marvel at fantasy worlds, you can't go wrong with THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA POP-UP as a gift this holiday season.

    --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

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