Tag: pixie hollow pop-up

Pixie Hollow Pop-up

I’ve been oh-so-slowly building up my collection of pop-up books because elaborate paper engineering is fascinating, but the books are so expensive that I rarely get a chance to acquire them (er, translation: never full price; mostly chance finds at bargain stores, and not brand new).
Pixie Hollow Pop-up (book #64 of 2009) is the latest addition to my small pop-up collection, composed of Pirateology, Vampyre, Mommy?, Dr. Seuss Pops Up, and Alice in Wonderland Pop-up.

I’m not a big fan of fairies or pixies because I find them capricious and not very likeable, but Triccie knew I just started collecting (her own collection is amazing!) and she had an extra copy so she reserved it for me for mooching (gosh, a lot of my prize finds are from Triccie!!!)

Storywise, Pixie Hollow Pop-up is typical Disney – fairy fluff, and very few words in total, but it’s a good example of the recent trend of fairly complex pop-up books (and other children’s novelty items) in the mainstream.

I guess it’s also a sign of the times that it takes so much more to hold a young reader’s attention these days, but even as an adult (and an illustrator), it’s hard to resist the visual appeal. Of course the costs of producing such a complex structure are equivalent to hefty price tag, but the craftsmanship is just amazing, although it’s not as artsy and is more commercial than Robert Sabuda’s books.

I remember the pop-ups when I was younger: mainly flat, 2 dimensional layers that moved from left to right or up and down, or had little surprises when you pulled the tab or lifted the flap.

Now they’re like paper sculptures that fold completely flat but come alive as you turn the page, literary popping out of the book. Now that’s pop-up!


Of course the grand dream for the Filipino children’s illustrator (i.e. me) is that publishers would invest in producing novelty books for kids, but the market is just too small and the purchasing power too weak, so I guess it will still be some time before we see any of them out. Jomike’s Dinosaur pop-up book is a good start, though.

I know our local publishers would like nothing more than to come up with the best books for kids that they possibly can, but the practicality of keeping the books affordable for the average Filipino is a big factor. Our local children’s books more than make up for it in content, with high quality (and bilingual!) stories and illustrations, though, and I’m glad that the local children’s books industry has grown the way it has over the years.

***
My copy: hardbound, mooched from Triccie

My rating: 4/5 stars

I Survived the 24-hour Read-a-thon.

I’m still alive!

It’s the 24th hour and I’m far from finishing the last book I started so I thought I’d start blogging already.

I realized I didn’t include an introduction of my challenge in my mid-event post, so to explain, the 24-hour read-a-thon is an event mounted in memory of Dewey, a blogger and a reader who started the event in October 2007. Dewey passed away in November 2008, and the 24-hour read-a-thon is continued by those who’ve helped Dewey organize the past read-a-thons, and hundreds of book bloggers in the world.

I never met Dewey, although she was also active on BookMooch, but I am inspired by the number of lives she touched, and how she shared her love of reading to people all over the world. I decided to join this year because I salute her efforts, and I wanted to be part of this global celebration for a fellow book blogger.

So, as you’ve read in my mid-event post, I had a lot of catching up to do since I got stuck on Silverlock last night. Here’s the story, and the answers to some memes

I realized I didn’t answer the introductory meme so here goes:

3 facts about me …
– I live in Makati City, Philippines, where it’s the peak of summer and the temperature’s over 30 degrees!
– I collect international editions of Harry Potter.
– I am scared of flying cockroaches.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I didn’t plan my reading list, other than Silverlock, which was I was in the middle of when the event started, so after that I just grabbed some books from my general TBR pile, which has nearly 300. Now they’re in disarray because I trawled through them like a madwoman, lol!

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
My goal was 8 books.

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
It’s my first time, although I’ll definitely plan better for the next one, and I want to pull a hardcore all-nighter!

And finally, my end-of-event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Gosh, around hour 16, after I posted my mid-event entry.
It was sooooo hot, I was sweating like crazy so I took off for a walk to McDonald’s, which is around five blocks from our house. I finished one book, Para Kay B, and then I had to go home because I had to go to mass — it’s Sunday in the Philippines.

Downing a coke float, which didn’t have much of an effect towards the heat!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Hmm, high-interest books in general, not necessarily ones I’ve read for this event. I’m thinking short and interesting so here are some suggestions:
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Arrival by Shaun Tan — wordless!
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, ill. by Lane Smith
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson
Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock
The Little Prince by Antoine Saint Exupery

I’ve found that illustrated books work great because there’s a visual interest, and your eyes can rest from straight text.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
My suggestion is same as my mid-event suggestion — a holiday read-a-thon, because people have more time off or can clear their schedule accordingly, regardless of time zone.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The Mr. Linky and the feed site — it’s a great way to find out what other readers are up to.

5. How many books did you read?
8 and a half

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The first four were in my mid-event post: Silverlock by John Myers Myers, D is for Dahl, and 2 Little Lit books (It was a Dark and Silly Night, and Fairy Tale Funnies).

Today’s reads included:
Para Kay B by Ricky Lee (photo above)

The Secret of the Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen
The Legend of Villa della Luna by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen

The Pixie Hollow Pop-up

and halfway through Miller’s Collecting Books by Catherine Porter
(and that’s my tottering TBR mountain– those that don’t fit my TBR shelves!)

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed the last book the most, Miller’s Collecting Books. It contains everything you need to know about collecting books and all sorts of book geekery, and I’m really loving it so I’m reading it slowly so I can savor it.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
Hmm, Silverlock was hardest for me to get through because I started it over the Easter holidays, stopped for a week when I had so much work to do and picked it up again for the read-a-thon. Hardcore fantasy (with maps and strange names) are really not my cup of tea, although the book references in Silverlock kept me going. Note to self: next time, no fantasy epics!

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn’t a cheerleader, but to the cheerleaders — good job! See you again next year!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’d still want to be a reader. I really want an all-nighter, and I’ve got to plan it out. An idea would be to read with another reader (or maybe more!), for a read-a-thon party.

Heehee, one last thing, I’d like to share a photo of my dog, Macky, helping me out in the read-a-thon:

Maybe he wants me to cook this recipe for him?
Cheers, and congratulations to all readers! Will post reviews of the read-a-thon books throughout this week.

Thank you Dewey for starting this tradition. You live in the memory of all read-a-thoners and read-a-thon cheerleaders!