The Ark: A Pop-up by Matthew Reinhart
PreSchool-Grade 4 - Reinhart bases his retelling of Noah's story on the Genesis account. He expands a bit on the original by including folkloric elements such as the jeering neighbors who later beg for a place onboard as the waters rise. What sets this version apart is the use of intricate pop-ups, not only on each spread but also in smaller fold-outs located along the sides. For example, next to the large ark under construction, a smaller scene shows Noah and one of his sons applying tar. The storm scene includes people climbing a mountain while lightning flashes and the ark tosses on roiling waves. The impressive paper engineering is both the book's strength and its weakness. Readers of almost any age will be impressed by the colorful, complex, three-dimensional scenes. However, their fragility limits the book's usefulness for libraries. The smaller pop-ups are particularly difficult to secure under their corner flaps. Librarians might consider whether they would have occasion to include this tale in storyhour and purchase accordingly.- Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, MankatoCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.