Frankenstein: A Pop-Up Book

With its riveting blend of horror and science fiction, Frankenstein has gripped the public’s imagination since its publication in 1818. Now Sam Ita, the genius of paper engineering and art, transforms Mary Shelley’s tragic masterpiece into an unforgettable, stunning, and accessible pop-up book.For the third time, Ita—who created the magnificent Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea pop-ups—successfully captures the rich, dark drama of his source through amazing images. The entire story unfolds almost cinematically, in a potent mix of graphic novel panels and spectacular three-dimensional designs. The gothic building where Dr. Frankenstein carries out his sinister experiment rises high on the page; a scaffold, complete with a rope noose, emerges threateningly; and the misunderstood, rageful monster looms large and menacing, ready to destroy all in his path.This is pure visual magic, and a wonderful way to experience a classic.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-8–Spectacular special effects more than compensate for a plot chopped to barely recognizable hash in this pop-up/graphic-novel hybrid. With occasional obvious exceptions ("I was just uh...grilling something"), the snatches of dialogue and commentary in Ita's small background panels are drawn from the original and provide notes more ponderous than atmospheric: "often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation...." Gosh-Wow moments start on the first spread, however, where a pull of the tab produces a bolt of lightning and the instant transformation of a rocky outcrop below the castle into a properly hideous giant. In subsequent marvels, the initial triumph on Victor Frankenstein's face moves in stages to disgust on a shaped flap composed of no fewer than four linked layers; the monster rears up with the golden locket taken from the child he's just smothered; jumbled body parts of the second monster are torched in an acetate coffin; and the Arctic finale occurs around an entire team of string-linked sled dogs. Solitary readers will need to be familiar with the story to make sense of this iteration, but as a prop for a retelling to an audience or as an exhibit centerpiece, it will be a big hit.John Peters, formerly at New York Public Library© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Ita shaves Shelley to the bone in this streamlined yet sophisticated retelling, but the heart (and guts) are there. Victor’s love of Elizabeth, the scorned creature who wreaks vengeance, and the unending despair that was the novel’s tonal trademark. Ita’s poppingest gambits are thrilling: the lever transforming a castle into a leaping monster, the clear plastic used as the doctor’s incubator, the strings lashing the sled dogs at the story’s climax. Even more impressive are the subtle movements; when was the last time you saw multiple levers used to illustrate slight changes in expression? Surprising, exciting, and even a bit haunting, this will be a hit with adults as much as their kids. Grades 4-7. --Daniel Kraus

About the Author

Sam Ita studied graphic design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He apprenticed for five years with Robert Sabuda and Matthew Rhinehart on, among other things, Christmas cards for the Museum of Modern Art. His creations for Sterling include 20,000 Leagues: A Pop-Up Book (9781402757761) Van Gogh's Sunflowers In-a-Box (9781402758126) and Moby Dick: A Pop-Up Book.

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