A pop up book is best reviewed by showing it to you rather than putting it into words, because words simply are not enough to describe the amazing, intricate, astounding pop ups that lie hidden in every page. And "Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-up Adventure" is no exception.
I'm actually letting the cat out of the bag by showing off the last page pop-up which is Darth Vader. What is truly amazing is that when you first open the page, Anakin Skywalker appears with a BLUE LIGHT-UP lightsaber which turns to a RED LIGHT-UP lightsaber as he transforms into Darth Vader. Yes, you heard right :) this pop-up book has a lightsaber that lights up and changes color from blue to red when you open the page - how freaking cool is that! Scroll down to see more pictures and remember to click on the pictures for bigger and better views. ENJOY!
Matthew Reinhart is a renowned paper engineer and bona fide STARS WARS aficionado. He created the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling "STAR WARS: A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY" with Lucasfilm, published by Orchard Books. He also created DC SUPER HEROES: THE ULTIMATE POP-UP BOOK and MOMMY? by Maurice Sendak. He has worked with Robert Sabuda on many fantastic pop-up titles such as THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ; ABC DISNEY; the Encyclopedia Mythologica trilogy; and the Encyclopedia Prehistorica trilogy. He lives in New York City.
This is the second Star Wars Pop-up book by Matthew Reinhart. The first "STAR WARS: A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY" covered Star Wars episodes IV to VI and this second book covers episodes I to III. The book starts with "A long time ago..." in "A galaxy far far away..." and covers all the different planets as seen in the first three episodes of Star Wars.
The "Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-up Adventure" book first opens up with the renowned Boonta Eve Classic Podrace scene showing young Anakin Skywalker in his podracer ahead of Sebulba, reigning and ruthless podracing champion. All the compartments open up to more stunning pop-ups and surprises which are completely hidden until you open them.
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| click on the picture for a BIGGER and BETTER view |
The next page unveils the "Universe of Diversity", revealing all the different beings that populate the Star Wars galaxy with the Nexu and Acklay taking centrestage and flanked by all the various beasts and creatures.
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| click on the picture for a BIGGER and BETTER view |
There's the armored opee sea killer, toydarians...
Geonosians, varactyls and wookies, and many more.
We are then introduced to the enemies of the Republic next and front and center of it all is General Grevious.
General Grevious pops up in a menacing pose with arms outstretched wielding lightsabers taken from fallen Jedi knights
And then there's the Destroyer Droids, also known as droidekas, which are first shown folded up into a compact wheel as they roll and barrel towards enemy targets.
Once in position, the Destroyer Droids / droidekas unfurl and deploy quickly into attack mode and formation. The great thing is that this is achieved with paper and pop-up effect :)
Let's not forget the battle droids of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Taking up positions from their compact packed stage
to their fully upright position and readying themselves for battle, alongside the super battle droids. In this case, from folded to pop-up all by just turning the page.
There's also the notorious Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett in pop-up effect
and the Sith Lord Darth Maul whom I swear seems to be executing a flying kick as you turn the page and then takes up his battle stance with his double-bladed lightsaber.
Up next are the vehicles seen in Star Wars episodes I to III, with the pop-up All Terrain Tactical Enforcer AT-TE, Jedi Interceptor, Republic Gunship and Slave I. There's also R2-D2 and C-3PO, the two droids that appeared in all six Star Wars films.
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| click on the picture for a BIGGER and BETTER view |
And finally, the battle of the Force between the warriors of light and the forces of evil, culminating in the fall of a promising Jedi Knight who becomes the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, whom I've shown right at the top of this toy blog post.
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| click on the picture for a BIGGER and BETTER view |
There's also the transformation of Chancellor Palpatine into...
the devious Darth Sidious, the mastermind behind the Clone Wars and his ultimate plan to rid the galaxy of the Jedi Knights in the great purge through the execution of Order 66!
Jedi Grand Master Yoda could do little to stop the onslaught and the remaining Jedi knights have to retreat and hide from the evil empire until the appropriate time when the Jedi can return.
This is a pop-up book like no other (well, there's "STAR WARS: A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY" but it's under the same tree) and I highly recommend it to all Star Wars fans, young and old. When this book arrived at my home, my sons and I enjoyed opening the book together and sharing the joy of finding all the hidden surprises and pop-up effects and were completely mesmerized by the contents of this "Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-up Adventure" book with light-up lightsaber by Matthew Reinhart :)
Other notable books I have covered in my toy blog include:
"The Dark Knight Manual: Tools, Weapons, Vehicles and Documents from the Batcave" - posted HERE
and
"X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe by Michael Mallory", a HUGE (28 cm or 11 inches wide x 36 cm or 14.25 inches high x 3 cm or 1.25 inches thick), heavy, hardcover bound and crammed full of interesting facts (288 pages in all) about the X-Men - posted HERE
plus Hobby Japan Mil-FIG Customized 12-inch Military Action Figures book shown HERE
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