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Encyclopedia Mythologica
Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures Pop-Up
Introducing a dazzling new series premiere! The world’s pop-up masters invite you to peek inside the fairy realm as it transforms before your eyes.
Open this entrancing book and meet Shakespeare’s Queen Titania, springing up with her silver wings aflutter. Further on, a crystalline elfin castle rises into the clouds, not far from some scary hobgoblins and trolls. And on a truly stunning spread, a humanoid magical tree spreads its branches to reveal a face within its foliage, while flowers unfold and rearrange their petals, turning into flower fairies. Visiting mythical beings around the world, from household brownies to the merfolk lurking deep below the sea, this breathtaking 3-D book, brimming with facts and fancy, will hold humans of all ages in its spell.
Open this entrancing book and meet Shakespeare’s Queen Titania, springing up with her silver wings aflutter. Further on, a crystalline elfin castle rises into the clouds, not far from some scary hobgoblins and trolls. And on a truly stunning spread, a humanoid magical tree spreads its branches to reveal a face within its foliage, while flowers unfold and rearrange their petals, turning into flower fairies. Visiting mythical beings around the world, from household brownies to the merfolk lurking deep below the sea, this breathtaking 3-D book, brimming with facts and fancy, will hold humans of all ages in its spell.
12 pages, Hardcover
First published June 14, 2008
2 people are currently reading
517 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Reinhart
96 books118 followersMatthew Christian Reinhart was born September 21, 1971 to Gary and Judith Reinhart in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The son of a farmer, his father Gary joined the Navy and so the family moved around the country, from Florida to Texas to Illinois to California to Virginia and then South Carolina. Judith and Matthew followed along, and soon to be joined by his little sister, Erin.
Art was always a huge part of Matthew Reinhart’s young life. Drawing pictures and making crafts were his favorite activities, in school and out. Matthew drew whenever and wherever he got the chance; in fact, school notebooks often had more drawings than notes! He loved drawing and reading about all creatures and animals so much, he drew them everywhere!
After high school, chose to study biology in preparation for medical school, thinking a career in art was too far-fetched. College life at Clemson University in South Carolina was busy for Matthew, but he was never really satisfied. Medicine was not his true calling, so along with his required science classes, Matthew took various art courses to build up his portfolio.
After graduating college, moved to New York City for a year before starting medical school. There, he met acclaimed children’s book author Robert Sabuda doing volunteer work together for a local community center. Robert's book, Christmas Alphabet had just released to rave reviews, and he convinced Matthew to follow his true calling. The following year, Matthew attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. as an industrial design major (concentrating in toy design).
Pratt was fantastic experience for him, but his initial dreams of being a toy designer soon transformed into paper engineer. After working with Robert on books like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, A B C Disney and Movable Mother Goose. Matthew made his first big break into the pop-up world with The Pop Up Book Of Phobias. Many books collaborations have followed, including a trilogy of New York Times best-selling Encyclopedia Prehistorica and the following series Encyclopedia Mythologica with Robert Sabuda, along with Mommy?, co-authored with the renowned Maurice Sendak and Brava Strega Nona with the ageless Tomie DePaola. His solo pop-up books include The Ark, Animal Popposites, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, The Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes, and STAR WARS: Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy. He continues to work and live in New York City, cutting, taping and folding paper into pop-up masterpieces.
Art was always a huge part of Matthew Reinhart’s young life. Drawing pictures and making crafts were his favorite activities, in school and out. Matthew drew whenever and wherever he got the chance; in fact, school notebooks often had more drawings than notes! He loved drawing and reading about all creatures and animals so much, he drew them everywhere!
After high school, chose to study biology in preparation for medical school, thinking a career in art was too far-fetched. College life at Clemson University in South Carolina was busy for Matthew, but he was never really satisfied. Medicine was not his true calling, so along with his required science classes, Matthew took various art courses to build up his portfolio.
After graduating college, moved to New York City for a year before starting medical school. There, he met acclaimed children’s book author Robert Sabuda doing volunteer work together for a local community center. Robert's book, Christmas Alphabet had just released to rave reviews, and he convinced Matthew to follow his true calling. The following year, Matthew attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. as an industrial design major (concentrating in toy design).
Pratt was fantastic experience for him, but his initial dreams of being a toy designer soon transformed into paper engineer. After working with Robert on books like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, A B C Disney and Movable Mother Goose. Matthew made his first big break into the pop-up world with The Pop Up Book Of Phobias. Many books collaborations have followed, including a trilogy of New York Times best-selling Encyclopedia Prehistorica and the following series Encyclopedia Mythologica with Robert Sabuda, along with Mommy?, co-authored with the renowned Maurice Sendak and Brava Strega Nona with the ageless Tomie DePaola. His solo pop-up books include The Ark, Animal Popposites, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, The Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes, and STAR WARS: Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy. He continues to work and live in New York City, cutting, taping and folding paper into pop-up masterpieces.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 20, 2015
Awesome! Provides hours of enchantment for ages 5-105.
October 9, 2011
The most beautiful pop-ups I have ever seen! Really breathtaking. I can't wait to get more of these.
While the pop-ups can be appreciated by people of all ages, the text is more appropriate for older kids and adults. I just read this to my second grader, and found myself stopping to explain after almost every sentence. Fortunately, the subject matter was interesting enough to keep her engaged. Even my five-year-old was able to sit through it. The book is filled with interesting myths and legends from around the world, and I could see my kids appreciating those more and more as they get older. As for reading level, I'd say sixth grade and up. The vocabulary is too mature for younger kids, and the writing style is very adult as well.
While the pop-ups can be appreciated by people of all ages, the text is more appropriate for older kids and adults. I just read this to my second grader, and found myself stopping to explain after almost every sentence. Fortunately, the subject matter was interesting enough to keep her engaged. Even my five-year-old was able to sit through it. The book is filled with interesting myths and legends from around the world, and I could see my kids appreciating those more and more as they get older. As for reading level, I'd say sixth grade and up. The vocabulary is too mature for younger kids, and the writing style is very adult as well.
February 18, 2015
Absolutely fabulous. Magical.
May 1, 2024
This book consists of 6 main spreads. Each spread has a large pop-up scene, and several flaps with smaller pop-ups in side each one. All of these pop-ups are created and engineered by pop-up master Robert Sabuda. The pop-ups are extremely intricate. Each of the flaps on each spread have text about some aspect of faerie.
A book that youngsters will want to pore over again and again.
A book that youngsters will want to pore over again and again.
July 15, 2017
Really cute!
Loved it!
Loved it!
May 14, 2019
Super cute book and I adored the pop ups.
July 4, 2021
This book is absolutely magical. I love it.
It is a bit complex for young readers but if they love myth you can always read it to them and let them marvel at the beautiful pop-ups.
It is a bit complex for young readers but if they love myth you can always read it to them and let them marvel at the beautiful pop-ups.
August 2, 2021
(Shhhhh! I almost gave this to the sweet little girl next door ... but then decided to keep it for myself.)
June 25, 2023
This series was really cool, but the fairy one was actually my least favorite.
March 12, 2017
So cute-beautiful artwork!
March 1, 2016
You know those magical pop-up books you see in movies sometimes? The ones that are so elaborate and complex that they couldn’t possibly exist in real life? Yeah, well, so much for that. Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda have created nothing short of magic with this three-book mythology-themed set. Each page has one large, impressive, center-piece pop-up that often extends far beyond the boundaries of the book. In addition to that there are little flaps on every page that lead to their own mini-pop-ups as well as some different stuff, such as a story that flips through the pages when you pull a tab (Gods & Heroes).
If you plan on getting one of these for your kid, maybe you should think twice if he/she is very young. The pop-ups are large and elaborate and, as it goes, more delicate than you may be used to. A rambunctious child could easily bend the paper which could possibly cause some of the pop-ups to fail to fold back in properly, causing even more damage. For example, there’s a mansion pop-up in the Fairies volume that will fail to fold back in if a paper tab is resting on the wrong side of another tab (they are not glued or attached in any way and it’s easy to bump it and move it to the wrong side). This happened when my girlfriend and I were looking at the book for the first time and, upon noticing that the pop-up wasn’t folding back in properly, we started examining it. It took probably five minutes to figure out what was wrong. That’s how intricate the designs of these things are. You have been warned.
If you plan on getting one of these for your kid, maybe you should think twice if he/she is very young. The pop-ups are large and elaborate and, as it goes, more delicate than you may be used to. A rambunctious child could easily bend the paper which could possibly cause some of the pop-ups to fail to fold back in properly, causing even more damage. For example, there’s a mansion pop-up in the Fairies volume that will fail to fold back in if a paper tab is resting on the wrong side of another tab (they are not glued or attached in any way and it’s easy to bump it and move it to the wrong side). This happened when my girlfriend and I were looking at the book for the first time and, upon noticing that the pop-up wasn’t folding back in properly, we started examining it. It took probably five minutes to figure out what was wrong. That’s how intricate the designs of these things are. You have been warned.
July 25, 2011
I love Sabuda's pop up books and this is the first one I've taken home for my daughter. This was a huge hit as a Christmas present.
There is a lot of detailed information in here about the fey and all different manner of fairy folk from different cultures - great to see the nasty side dealt with as well as the cuter side!
This book is a great present for those interested in fairies and magical creatures as well as folktales. If you haven't yet got a Sabuda pop up, head out and find one - Alice In WOnderland and the Wizard of Oz ar my favourite ones still I think - even though this one is lovely.
There is a lot of detailed information in here about the fey and all different manner of fairy folk from different cultures - great to see the nasty side dealt with as well as the cuter side!
This book is a great present for those interested in fairies and magical creatures as well as folktales. If you haven't yet got a Sabuda pop up, head out and find one - Alice In WOnderland and the Wizard of Oz ar my favourite ones still I think - even though this one is lovely.
September 29, 2015
The pop-ups in this book were lovely. So many fun lift up flaps with beautiful illustrations of the creatures this book is about. It would really be too intricate for a small child to look at on their own, but the illustrations are friendly enough for them to look at if the book is read to them.
So much fairy and mythological lore from around the world is included in bite-sized snippets. I learned a number of things I hadn't before, and it has certainly given me some new creatures to research that I may not have considered before.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology, fairies, pop-up/lift-the-flap books or any combination of the three.
So much fairy and mythological lore from around the world is included in bite-sized snippets. I learned a number of things I hadn't before, and it has certainly given me some new creatures to research that I may not have considered before.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology, fairies, pop-up/lift-the-flap books or any combination of the three.
October 19, 2008
This was a gift for my birthday from my sister. So I would recommend it as a gift. It was brilliant. It's a pop-up book encyclopedia with different fairy lore. It's divided into different sections such as "Fairy World", "Orgin",and "Secret Forces of Nature". Each page has a pop-up feature with side pop-ups that give information on that category of fairy. It gives a fun spin on research that I currently doing on the Green Man and other Irish Fairies. A great gift for any friend or family member that loves fairies beyond Tinker Bell.
January 18, 2011
London is learning all about the little folk and how real non-concrete can be. These books are fragile, but fascinating to our own little folk. They realize that the books are special and not the same as a 'regular' book. They are like an old house -- full of surprises.
February 17, 2014
I love that this pop-up book list the different creatures the way it does. It makes me feel like a kid again and I have to say my favorite pop-up is the unicorn and the tree ^-^ I'm just in love with the art and style of the pop-ups
July 6, 2015
I feel like I'm becoming a pop up aficionado with my latest influx of pop up books. This book is one of the best I've seen.. beautiful flaps to lift up and wonderful pop ups of mythical creatures. Such a cute add for my classroom library!
September 1, 2015
We love this book. I wish they went into more detail about each creature (though I realize that would be a lot to fit in the book!), but it is a great introduction to each figure, and the popups are wonderful.
November 14, 2016
This book was just beautiful. The pop up artwork, the fairies, their homes, it was all luminous and exquisite. The book explored fairies as a whole, how and where they lived, and even introduced you to some well known fairy characters from literature. A fun, interesting book.
July 14, 2008
Sabuda gets brownie points for including at least 3-5 mini pop-ups with each feature pop-up. The big dryad is the best pop-up, hands down.
May 9, 2009
Myths and fairy tales from all over the world are briefly explained and three-dimensionally illustrated in brilliantly colored, fabuously sophisticated pop-ups.
January 19, 2010
Pop-ups=awesome
February 12, 2012
An oh-so-pretty offering from the master of the pop-up book!
January 2, 2013
I really took more than two weeks to complete this book .....
It's really interesting and simply turn off the pages back to read it again and agin...
It's all because I'm interested in fairies...
It's really interesting and simply turn off the pages back to read it again and agin...
It's all because I'm interested in fairies...
May 10, 2015
Beautiful pop ups.
j
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j
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R45
March 16, 2016
THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND MAGICAL
January 15, 2017
All his books are just so amazing...
November 25, 2020
An epic pop-up book that I still love until today.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews