Haunted House

Rating:
Summary: Found at street fair
Review: In a word - Good. Excellent "pop-up's" - no real story line - but the visuals compensate.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent--definitely worth the price!
Review: Jan Pienkowski's Haunted House is a terrific book, with lots of great colorful detailed illustrations and a variety of popups, pullouts, dial turns, etc. Except for the last, each of the five double pages has at least three "activities", and some have more. Many of the pictures are funny, with things like a black cat in the toilet--the bathroom scene is one of my two favorites, in fact, with a fantastically silly buglike alien with peppermint lips bursting through the wall and an alligator in the tub. Although nothing is particularly frightening for most, parents will want to exercise a bit of judgement if their children are very sensitive--there's no blood, but there is a skeleton in the closet and a ghost hovering over a bed. If my child were prone to fears I would definitely skip this one. But most kids will love it, and, like Sesame Street, adults will find a few details put in only for them--the bookshelf, for example, has books labelled "Poe", "Bosch" and "Von Dani" with the remaining letters of that last name off the page--recognise it? (Hint: There's a spaceship on the same page!)

We were given this book for my son probably 16 years ago. My daughter also enjoyed it as a child and in fact was just studying the pop-up techniques for her high school design technology class. Our original copy has held up well after all the years and all the loving, which speaks volumes for its construction--kudos to "paper engineer Tor Lokvig"! Pages are thick card stock and only a few of the popup effects have suffered any of the ravages of time in our copy; but I still would recommend getting a new copy rather than buying one used, especially sight unseen. And at the price, even a new one is definitely a bargain!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent--definitely worth the price!
Review: Jan Pienkowski's Haunted House is a terrific book, with lots of great colorful detailed illustrations and a variety of popups, pullouts, dial turns, etc. Except for the last, each of the five double pages has at least three "activities", and some have more. Many of the pictures are funny, with things like a black cat in the toilet--the bathroom scene is one of my two favorites, in fact, with a fantastically silly buglike alien with peppermint lips bursting through the wall and an alligator in the tub. Although nothing is particularly frightening for most, parents will want to exercise a bit of judgement if their children are very sensitive--there's no blood, but there is a skeleton in the closet and a ghost hovering over a bed. If my child were prone to fears I would definitely skip this one. But most kids will love it, and, like Sesame Street, adults will find a few details put in only for them--the bookshelf, for example, has books labelled "Poe", "Bosch" and "Von Dani" with the remaining letters of that last name off the page--recognise it? (Hint: There's a spaceship on the same page!)

We were given this book for my son probably 16 years ago. My daughter also enjoyed it as a child and in fact was just studying the pop-up techniques for her high school design technology class. Our original copy has held up well after all the years and all the loving, which speaks volumes for its construction--kudos to "paper engineer Tor Lokvig"! Pages are thick card stock and only a few of the popup effects have suffered any of the ravages of time in our copy; but I still would recommend getting a new copy rather than buying one used, especially sight unseen. And at the price, even a new one is definitely a bargain!

Rating:
Summary: The Haunted House takes the reader on an imaginative tour!
Review: The Haunted House is a vivid and cleverly created pop-up book which dares its reader to embark on an imaginative rampage through a haunted mansion. Pienkowski has created an interactive world in which a woman's portrait eyes you with a playful menace, a spaghetti monster leaps from the refrigerator, and you come face to face with a hilarious blue alien. There are literally skeletons in the closet of this book! Children will love this book for its fantastic images; adults will appreciate the unique detail and craftsmanship. This is, by far, the most fascinating pop-up on the market!