Product Description

The timeless song of the The Twelve Days of Christmas springs to life in this lavish pop-up edition by award-winning author, artist, and paper engineer Robert Sabuda. Sure to be a classic, this elegant keepsake will be treasured by all, each and every holiday season.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120021 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 12 pages

Amazon.com Review
Robert Sabuda is to pop-up art what the International Grandmaster is to chess, and it isn't for nothing that he's described on the back of this book as a "paper engineer." As the title suggests, this whimsical, old-fashioned, elegant book embodies the Traditional Song of Abundant Giving--each verse of "The 12 Days of Christmas" is illustrated with a different pop-up creation. Some are relatively simple, such as the partridge (made of just two pieces of hinged paper) that opens its wings above some pears. Still, there is something unexpectedly bold about how the bird literally flies out over the top margin of the page. Other pop-ups are more characteristically bravura creations: the "Ten pipers piping" are crafted explicitly as decorative paper cut-outs, but the scissors that cut them are part of the pop-up, too. Perhaps the most complex of the set is "Eleven Ladies Dancing." Interpreted as an old-fashioned music box, the 11 ladies dancing are little ballerinas, and the music box is complete with drawer, back-mirror, and winding key. Sabuda's masterful The 12 Days of Christmas is full of nostalgia for the magic of childhood celebration--kids and adults alike would be happy to receive this book as a holiday gift. (Ages 3 to 103) --Richard Farr

From Publishers Weekly
Reigning prince of paper construction Sabuda has fashioned the classic carol into a crisp, 3D holiday greeting, somewhat similar in style to his Christmas Alphabet (1994). Each spread contains festively colored background panels sprinkled with white text and featuring two spectacularly intricate, snow-white pop-ups; one takes center stage and the other is hidden beneath a gatefold flap. In a welcome update, Sabuda's witty take on the tune's verses depicts "four calling birds" as emerging from a cuckoo clock and "eleven ladies dancing" as ballerinas pirouetting inside a child's musical jewelry box. The design is sturdy enough to withstand repeated readings, provided that it's treated as a book, not a toy. All ages.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5^-10. Last year, Sabuda celebrated the holiday season with The Christmas Alphabet, a handsome pop-up book with a stand-out picture for each letter of the alphabet. This year's offering, a beautiful version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," has fewer illustrations but Sabuda makes them larger and even more engaging. Each double-page spread features pop-out figures from the song, while a foldout half page on the right-hand page opens outward, allowing a second gift to rise as the page is turned. Imaginatively conceived, strikingly designed, and intricate in their paper engineering, the pop-ups are constructed of sturdy white paper that contrasts effectively with the surrounding bold colors and simplified shapes. Each turn of the page brings new delights: the four calling birds dart out from a cuckoo clock, and the five gold rings, made individually of metallic paper, shine from the antlers of a three-dimensional deer's head. Although no book in this format is kid-proof, the pictures here emerge on their own with the opening of each page, eliminating the pull tabs that tend to tear. Libraries should consider this splendid Christmas gift book for holiday displays and story hours as well as circulation. Carolyn Phelan

Customer Reviews

Magical Childrens Book
Even though I am a teenager, I love Sabudas' The Twelve Days of Christmas. This book is magical because when you turn to each page you see a magnificent array of creativity. Each time I read it (many times!) I study how all those paper designs work so perfectly. I especially love the jewelry box, swans, and reindeer. It is a real treat for your eyes as well as your imagination. I recommend it for all ages, and would be a perfect gift for the holiday season.

A Christmas Treasure!
This is a book I get out every Christmas and is displayed with great care. My children love this book but can only look at it under my supervision due to the delicate nature of the detailed pop-up pages. Would make a great gift for anyone and is truely a favorite reading during the holidays.

What an awesome book!
A wonderful version of the traditional song. There are many different folds and techniques used in this fairly compact book as well as interesting literary devices which lift this well out of the commonplace. Each odd numbered day of the song is given one and a half pages which are full of a miracle of cutting and folding.( apologies for the rhetoric but I LOVE this book ). The pages are in large blocks of colour which offset beatifully the mostly white pop-up creations and the, very different, white text.Each even-numbered day folds out from the half page left into an equivalent full page which is also coloured with white card pop-ups which are delicate paper cutouts All of the gifts are truly represented, but with a twist. All are also common gifts or images of a traditional Christmas. e.g The five Gold rings are shiny gold rings set on a white reindeer's antler-tips. The eight maids a-milking are Christmas cookies on a tray. The wonderful swans are in a snow-globe that also incorporates perspex through which we see not only the swans swimming , but also the snow falling! One has to look hard to find the eleventh lady dancing on the music box. The use of colour on each page is superb. Not one part of the book detracts from any other part. We are now all lookign forward to finding a copy of Sabuda's ABC book . This also has the same use of white cut-outs moving against a single colour background. There is so much that is excellent about this book that it would take a long time for the novelty to wear off. There are several layers to it and never does Sabuda seem to rely on the tricks of paper engineering to carry the book. It stands out in so many areas. With my children ( and others) we have readit, sung it, played with it, copied it and discussed the traditions behind the song and the gift versions in the book. Yet whenever it comes down off the shelf ( It is a seasonal treat or for rainy or sick days - or College assignments! ) everyone gets excited all over again.