Ding Dong! Merrily on High: A Pop-up Book of Christmas Carols

by Francesca Crespi

Here, beautifully presented in 3-D pop-ups, are five familiar and much-loved carols: O Christmas Tree, Silent Night, We Three Kings, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Ding Dong Merrily on High. Complemented by the melody line and guitar chords, these carols evoke the traditional spirit of Christmas.

Angels climb up to decorate a swirling Christmas tree; a seraphic sphere mysteriously appears in the silent night above a miniature, glowing, Nativity; the Three King's star slowly turns into a rose-window kaleidoscope; hosts of angels wing in flight across the sky; and, in a rousing finale, ranks of small choirboys watch as two choristers take turns to ring the great cathedral bell. This beautiful and ingenious pop-up treasury makes a perfect Christmas gift.

Genres: Music, Christmas, Holiday, Childrens

14 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first verses of five classic Christmas carols - O Christmas Tree / Silent Night / Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / We Three Kings of Orient Are / Ding Dong! Merrily on High - are illustrated with pop-up scenes from Francesca Crespi in this lovely holiday book for children. The pop-ups themselves are fairly simple, usually arranged in a scene along the top or bottom of each two-page spread, although two carols - Silent Night and We Three Kings of Orient Are - also have a tab that allows the reader to manipulate a star/circle. The final spread has a bell being rung by two choir members...

An enjoyable, interactive holiday book, one perfectly suited to young carol lovers, Ding Dong! Merrily On High: A Pop-up Book of Christmas Carols is a book I have long been meaning to track down, so I'm glad my inter-library loan for it finally came in. The paper engineering here is simple but effective, and the artwork appealing. I was surprised to see that the verse used for O Christmas Tree was not what I was used to. It reads "O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Thou tree most fair and lovely," rather than what I was used to: O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! How lovely are thy branches." I was unaware that there were multiple versions of this song in English translation. I am familiar with the German original, and am not sure where this alternate version comes from. Leaving aside that puzzle, this is a book I would recommend to all young carol lovers, especially those that appreciate more interactive, pop-up style books.

[Reading Fury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of the pop ups are really exquisite, the rest quite nice. Beautiful artwork overall.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pop-ups in this book are absolutely amazing and I loved looking at them in relation to the music on the page. The music was also beautifully illustrated and gave it a bit of a nineteenth century air. Honestly, the only reason that I gave it 3/5 stars is because I wish that it were longer! When I read it I was surprised at how quickly it ended....there was only about five songs in the whole book! When you have a range of every Christmas song ever written, I think that you could easily choose a few more to add. Overall, it was great....I just want more!

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop-up book