Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book
by Chuck Fischer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chuck FischerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-26
ISBN: 0821257021
Number of pages: 12
Publisher: Bulfinch
Book Reviews of Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book
Book Review: Six striking pop-ups, but lackluster text & extras
Summary: 4 Stars
First and most importantly - if you want big, centerpiece pop-ups, this book delivers. "Christmas in New York"'s main attractions don't boast Robert Sabuda-like paper architecture, but they do have bigness and boldness and are the book's greatest strength. You get six scenes (skip ahead if you don't want the surprise spoiled!) - the giant Rockefeller Center Christmas tree before its famous ice rink, a lavish pink marzipan fan to accompany George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, the Fifth Avenue shopping district on Christmas Eve, a photo-real Christmas tree bedecked with a flock of angels (impressive and satisfying to unfold), and Times Square on New Year's Eve.
All are brightly illustrated in vivid pastels and paints with, as appropriate, brassiness, cheer, or the soft, detailed charm of traditional children's books. It may be cliche to say, but it really is a joy to open them again and again. The treats don't end there, either - in the back, there's an innovative bit of packaging (which I won't spoil) containing an illustrated gift tag, a paper ornament that unfolds to a miniature of one of the book's pop-ups, and a tiny map of New York with the landmarks mentioned in the book and a snowy skyline on the reverse.
The backbone of the book, then, is solid. When you get to the all the little extras and flavor text, though, it sags. The additional pop-ups tucked in the side flaps and little booklets telling neat trivia stories are, in these deluxe "grown-up" pop-ups, like the crackerjacks you eat after you've rummaged for the toy. They tell you neat new stuff about the big images and engage your mind.
We do have some such bits here, like a section detailing the history and significance of all the massive works of art in Rockefeller Center (did you know one mural had to be replaced due to its depiction of Lenin among humanity's heroes?) or about a toy train in the Botanical Gardens that runs through a miniature New York made entirely of vegetation. An anecdote from John Rockefeller on the origin of the famous Christmas tree in the plaza his grandfather built is much appreciated, as are the sparse but enchanting photos of the Nutcracker ballet and the mention of the unusual role L. Frank Baum had in shaping the modern holiday. Often, though, the text bits read like publicity releases, vapid and mindlessly running down dates and statistics in lieu of something that grips the imagination. We're dutifully walked through the story of the Nutcracker, as if it were brand-new to us; we take time to acclaim the continued productivity of the corporate tenants of Rockefeller Center, where NBC, the author notes approvingly, "continues to create quality television programming". Seldom in a blurb does the author forget to begin by informing us with satisfaction how much we all love a given site or end by telling us how, we are assured, we will continue to love it for years to come.
Guys, you already got me. If I've shelled out $35 for a pop-up book on the subject, I already think New York City is great. Give me something I DON'T know - something that'll make me love it even more.
No extra little pop-ups are hiding in the flaps; beautiful the central works may be, there is a touch of laziness in the production. Some of the images are copied and pasted - both rows of Rockettes, the back buildings in the last pop-up. These're big images, so you do notice. One pop-up is bookended with photos of New York's famously lavish department store window displays, but the author's selection of displays is atypically drab, photographed as if dimmed to a brownish palette. There isn't much motion to the pop-ups - you can pull a tab to make skaters semi-glide, and the Rockettes kick a little bit. The author also cracks a couple "heh, heh, WOMEN, eh, boys?" comments in passing. They're very slight, almost too slight to mention, but - dude. This is a pop-up book. On CHRISTMAS. Leave the agenda at home.
Also frustrating - the text tantalizingly alludes to but never shows a number of intriguing and surely awe-inspiring sights, presumably because the author wants you to come and see them for yourself. (He opens the book with an account of how awed and changed his Midwestern family was by their New York City Christmas visit, and he chats up landmarks as if he's selling them, not spinning yarns for an already-curious audience.) Don't tell me about the three-story-high lit-up snowflake on 57th Street or the laser light show in the roof of Grand Central if I'm not going to SEE them, darn it.
I go on and on about the flaws, but the bottom line - you want nice pop-up tableaux, you've got six of them, well-chosen and -painted. At $35, it is overpriced; I wouldn't pay over $30. It's not in the league of "The New York Pop-up Book", to which it will be inevitably seen as a companion, but it's an enjoyable, if more conventional, addition to your Christmas.
Summary of Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book
This interactive pop-up book makes the perfect gift for those who love the holiday traditions that originated in New York - from lighting the tree in Rockefeller Center to watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve.CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK is a spectacular gift book featuring the world-famous holiday traditions of New York City presented in the three-dimensional art of a pop-up book. Its unique construction combines original art by Chuck Fischer with photography of famous New York City landmarks and past holiday celebrations. Each pop-up spread will include short histories, architectural legacies, anecdotes, and fun facts contained in mini-pop-ups, pullouts, removable booklets, and other extras. Destined to become a treasured keepsake, CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK has been a perennial bestseller for years to come.Christmas Books
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