posted on 29 Nov 2017

ABC Pop-Up by Courtney West McCarthy

I collect alphabet books, I also can’t resist a book in a box and I'm a big fan of pop ups - so this little beauty is a perfect combination. The overall presentation is very pleasing and designed with small hands in mind. Once the book is out of the box, each turn of the page is a delight, from the sturdy red Apple on the first page right through to the half way Zipped Yellow garment on the last page.

When I showed this to my elderly mother, she said that it wouldn’t take me long to write a book review because there is no written text. I explained that I could probably wax lyrical about every page but, to keep this manageable, I will nevertheless try to restrain myself and just write about a few of my favourites.

Most of the pages illustrate at least two letters of the alphabet per page which makes for some interesting combinations. Each one is helpfully embossed on the appropriate picture which was especially useful with Letter and Mail and Hand and Ice cream, a combination which I was initially a bit puzzled by. Some of the letters get individual treatment across two facing pages which adds variety to the rhythm of the book. I smiled at XRay which shows a skeleton being revealed underneath a grey body shape against a white background as the page is opened and would guess that children would return to this page over and over again.

‘No’ is a powerful word in a young child’s vocabulary from a very young age so it is an apt choice to illustrate the letters N and O. I liked the way that the white word itself marches out defiantly in three ranks from the centre of the yellow page. It is reinforced still further by smaller ‘No’ words tumbling down from the side and in medium sized fonts to the left and right facing the corners of each page.

The atmosphere shifts from page to page and the purple Windmill that stands in the foreground of a Village made up of several interesting buildings against a white background has a Christmassy feel about it. I can imagine lots of conversations about what might be going on in the different houses.

This is a charming and rather unusual pop up book with effectively bold colour and design. The addition of words would be redundant because the illustrations do the job superbly. I recommend that you spend time turning the pages with a child who should find plenty of reasons to say ‘wow’ and perhaps be inspired to try making some simple pop ups for themselves. It is also recommended as 'an elegant choice for design connoisseurs and collectors’ - I guess that includes people just like me.

 

Karen Argent

November 2017