An illustrated history of Interactive books Part 7: The era of the Masters of Pop up: Sabuda and Reinhart and possible legacy
The Sabuda/Reinhart era:
Introduction
This blogpost will mainly focus on two individual pop up artists who have both elevated the level of pop up art to new heights and who thus have been and are enormously influential on other pop up artists, trying to compete, trying to reach their levels of quality and innovation or trying to denounce their extravagance (actually that last category will be described in blogpost 8, which is the final blogpost in this series of 9 (starting at issue 0).
Paper as spectacle, collaboration and fold‑out extravagance
From the 1990s onward, names like Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart became synonymous with blockbuster pop‑ups. Their books took everything learned from a century of trial and error and pushed it to theatrical extremes.
Robert Sabuda (1965- …)
Born March 8, 1965, Sabuda grew up fascinated by 1970s pop-ups and made his first at age eight using manila folders. He studied at Pratt Institute, interned at a children’s publisher, and debuted his first pop-up, The Christmas Alphabet, in 1994 after self-teaching advanced techniques.
Sabuda is often celebrated for his crisp, mostly white or limited‑palette constructions, which emphasize form and light. His adaptations of classics like “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” feature:
- Monumental central sculptures (cities, castles, mythical creatures) that almost leap out of the book into the reader’s lap.
- Extremely clean geometry, with sharp folds that feel almost architectural.
- Secondary mini‑books on each page, each hiding its own miniature pop‑up, so the reader is invited to explore the spread in multiple passes.
Mechanically, Sabuda pushes V‑folds, multi‑tier box pop‑ups, and intricate fold‑out elements—panels that swing open from the main spread to reveal yet more layers.
Robert Sabuda’s “The Little Mermaid” is a 2013 pop-up adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, featuring intricate three-dimensional paper engineering that brings the underwater story to life. Published by Little Simon, it uses stained-glass-style illustrations with bold black lines and jewel-toned colors to depict sea and land scenes.
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The book follows Andersen’s original tragic narrative of a young mermaid who sacrifices her voice and tail for legs to pursue love with a human prince, only to face unrequited love, transformation into sea foam, and a chance at redemption as a “child of the air.”
Each of its 12 pages includes a large central pop-up, like the mermaid emerging from water or her tail turning into legs, plus smaller pop-ups in inset booklets for added interactivity. Sabuda’s design emphasizes fragile, artistic mechanics suited for careful handling by older children or adults.
The tale explores themes of adventure, true love, sacrifice, longing for the unknown, and acceptance when desires go unfulfilled, resonating with Sabuda’s own inspirations from a small-town background yearning for worldly experiences. Unlike Disney’s happier version, it retains the bittersweet Andersen ending, highlighting moral depth over romance.
Sabuda’s engineering features elaborate constructs, such as a multi-layered wedding stage for the prince’s marriage and transformative elements mimicking the mermaid’s physical changes, achieved through precise die-cut paper folding and gluing.
These push beyond basic pop-ups with “elaborate paper constructs that few engineers achieve,” blending intricate mechanics with visual artistry.
As part of Sabuda’s “Pop-Up Classics” series, it exemplifies his status as the “prince of pop-ups,” elevating the format from simple novelties to high-art masterpieces that rival digital media through “4-D” illusions and fine engineering. The book advances pop-up evolution by integrating complex, narrative-driven mechanisms—like spinning or elevating structures—in fairy tale adaptations, influencing the genre’s prestige and technical sophistication for collectors and creators.
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Robert Sabuda’s “The Chronicles of Narnia Pop-Up” (2007) condenses C.S. Lewis’s seven-book fantasy series into an interactive pop-up book with one elaborate spread per volume. Created with illustrations by Matthew Armstrong, it features 11 three-dimensional scenes that capture key moments from the Narnian adventures.
Published by HarperCollins, the book devotes a pop-up spread to each title: The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle.
Iconic elements like Aslan the lion, the wardrobe portal, and the Dawn Treader ship emerge through detailed paper engineering with special effects such as spinning and elevating structures.
The series weaves Christian allegory with themes of sacrifice, redemption, good versus evil, and the transition from childhood innocence to moral maturity, centered on children entering the magical world of Narnia via a wardrobe.
Sabuda’s adaptation highlights these epic journeys, emphasizing wonder, bravery, and spiritual growth in Lewis’s timeless fantasy.
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Sabuda employs advanced mechanisms like twisters for dynamic motion, as in the “Birth of Narnia” scene, alongside intricate die-cuts for floating ships and roaring lions, blending sculptural art with narrative flow.
The designs achieve “stunning special effects” in compact spreads, showcasing his mastery of light, motion, and three-dimensional illusion from flat paper.
This work solidified Sabuda’s role in revolutionizing pop-ups from novelties to sophisticated art forms, expanding boundaries with multi-book condensations and engineering feats that rival sculpture. It influenced the genre by proving pop-ups could handle complex fantasy series, boosting their appeal to adult collectors and elevating paper engineering’s prestige.
Most impressivevin my opinion are the galloping horse and the long queu of characters walking through “heaven’s gate”, reaching far beyond the page’s edge.
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Robert Sabuda’s “Peter Pan: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up” (2008) is a lavish adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s timeless tale, featuring innovative pop-ups that immerse readers in Neverland’s wonders. Published by Little Simon (Simon & Schuster), it spans 16 pages with full-color illustrations and intricate paper engineering highlighting flying, pirates, and fairies.
Sabuda retells the story of Peter Pan teaching the Darling children—Wendy, John, and Michael—to fly to Neverland, where they encounter Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and thrilling adventures.
Each spread includes a grand central pop-up, such as soaring over London or battling on the pirate ship, plus smaller pop-ups in tuck-in booklets for added depth and interactivity.
The narrative celebrates eternal childhood, the thrill of imagination, adventure, and the bittersweet tension between growing up and holding onto wonder, with Peter embodying refusal to mature.
Sabuda’s version preserves Barrie’s magic, emphasizing freedom, friendship, and the poignant pull of responsibility.
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Key features include elaborate flying sequences with characters leaping off the page, Tinker Bell’s shimmering glow via layered die-cuts, and a dynamic pirate ship battle with moving elements like swords and sails.
Sabuda’s engineering fuses art and mechanics, using precise folds for illusionistic depth that draws viewers into the scene.
This book exemplifies Sabuda’s transformation of pop-ups into high-art engineering, with “elaborate pop-ups” that turn classics into collectible sculptures, appealing to all ages.
It advanced the form by integrating motion, light effects, and narrative booklets, inspiring elevated standards in paper engineering for fantasy tales.
Robert Sabuda’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Commemorative Pop-Up” (2000) is a stunning adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s classic, marking the 100th anniversary with intricate pop-ups inspired by W.W. Denslow’s original art style. Published by Little Simon, it features iridescent papers, colored foils, holographic effects, and included Emerald City glasses for immersive viewing.
The abridged tale follows Dorothy Gale, swept by a cyclone from Kansas to Munchkinland, where she teams with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion to seek the Wizard’s help, encountering witches, poppies, and the gleaming Emerald City along the yellow brick road.
Eight elaborate spreads include kinetic elements like a spinning tornado, a floating hot-air balloon, and towering Emerald City architecture with tuck-in booklets for extra pop-ups.
Baum’s narrative champions home, friendship, courage, heart, brains, and self-reliance, revealing that sought-after gifts already lie within, while critiquing illusion and false authority through Oz’s deceptive wizard.
Sabuda’s version amplifies the wonder of discovery and journey, blending childlike awe with Baum’s American fairy-tale optimism.
This bestseller elevated pop-ups to bestseller status, proving the format’s commercial and artistic viability for classics, with Sabuda’s feats like spinning mechanisms setting new engineering benchmarks.
It inspired collector editions and reinforced pop-ups as sculptural art, influencing sophisticated adaptations in the genre.
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Robert Sabuda’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: A Pop-Up Adaptation” (2003) is a masterful pop-up rendition of Lewis Carroll’s surreal classic, featuring white-on-white cutouts in John Tenniel’s iconic style that explode into intricate, multi-layered scenes. Published by Little Simon, its 12 pages burst with super-sized pop-ups across seven spreads, enhanced by foil, acetate pull-tabs, and tactile elements.
The abridged tale traces Alice’s tumble down the rabbit hole into a topsy-turvy realm of the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter’s tea party, Cheshire Cat, Caterpillar, and the tyrannical Queen of Hearts’ croquet game. Each spread packs a massive central pop-up—like the grinning Cat vanishing mid-page—plus mini-booklet insets with extra pop-ups for layered storytelling.
Carroll’s nonsense narrative probes identity, logic, growth, and absurdity through Alice’s dreamlike trials, blending childlike curiosity with Victorian satire on rigid authority and language games. Sabuda amplifies the whimsy, capturing the disorienting joy and frustration of Wonderland’s illogic.
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Highlights include a Victorian peep-show on the first spread revealing Alice’s fall, pull-tab transformations like the growing/shrinking Alice, and multifaceted foils for shimmering effects on characters like the Duchess or playing cards. These kinetic, illusionistic mechanics—spinning, folding, and layering—create immersive depth from flat paper.
Hailed as Sabuda’s pinnacle achievement, it redefined pop-ups as “breathtaking three-dimensional images” blending fine art with engineering, setting standards for interactive classics via peep-shows and mini-books that influenced the genre’s shift toward sophisticated, collectible novelties.
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Robert Sabuda’s “Beauty & the Beast: A Pop-Up Adaptation of the Classic Fairy Tale” (2010) brings the timeless story to life through elaborate paper engineering, featuring a lifelike Beast, enchanted castle, and blooming rose garden across 12 pages. Published by Little Simon (Simon & Schuster), it uses classically styled artwork in bold colors with intricate pop-ups on every spread.
The narrative follows Beauty, who enters the Beast’s mysterious castle after her father plucks a forbidden rose, leading to her captivity, growing affection amid magical wonders, and ultimate transformation through true love. Key pop-ups include the towering castle gates, a lavish dining hall, and the dramatic rose motif symbolizing fleeting time.
This fairy tale explores themes of inner beauty, unconditional love, sacrifice, and redemption, challenging superficial judgments as the Beast’s monstrous exterior hides a noble heart, while Beauty’s compassion breaks the curse. Sabuda’s adaptation emphasizes emotional depth and enchantment over Disney’s lighter tone.
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Sabuda crafts “amazing paper structures” like multi-layered castle facades, a dynamic Beast figure with textured fur via die-cuts, and a spectacular rose garden that unfolds with petals in motion, blending sculpture-like depth and classical detailing for immersive storytelling.
Marking an “even more innovative” step in Sabuda’s oeuvre, it advanced pop-up engineering with complex, narrative-driven architectures and motifs, solidifying the format as high art and family heirlooms that rival digital media through tactile wonder.
Many of his spreads could be considered display pieces: open the book and you effectively have a small sculpture that can sit upright on a shelf.
Sabuda and Reinhart
In collaborative projects like “Encyclopedia Prehistorica,” Sabuda and Reinhart combined their vision (as well as their strengths, more about that a bit later):
- Sabuda’s structural clarity and sense of how to make huge objects stand and collapse reliably.
- Reinhart’s love of layered, overlapping elements—teeth, claws, scales, wings—that give creatures a feeling of motion and richness.
Encyclopedia Prehistorica has therefore become a celebrated trilogy of pop-up books co-created by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, published by Candlewick Press starting in 2005.
The series includes Dinosaurs (2005), Sharks and Other Sea Monsters (2006), and Mega-Beasts (2007), featuring over 35 intricate pop-ups per volume that bring prehistoric creatures to life with scientific facts and stunning paper engineering.
Their Collaboration Process
Sabuda and Reinhart divided roles based on strengths:
- Reinhart, with his biology background, wrote manuscripts, ensured anatomical accuracy, and planned pop-up layouts for maximum impact.
- Sabuda focused on designing and engineering the three-dimensional elements, creating rough prototypes while Reinhart finalized artwork; they iterated together on details like dinosaur movements.
The result is a hybrid style where each spread becomes a layered event. A giant dinosaur might dominate the center, while smaller flaps around the edges pop up into additional species, bones, or scenes. These books mix fold‑out side panels, deep box structures, and dense clusters of small V‑folds; the whole spread behaves like a controlled explosion in slow motion.
The books set records for complexity, with Dinosaurs boasting more pop-ups than any prior project from their studios, blending education and spectacle for ages 12+. Limited signed editions (e.g., 260-300 copies) included extras like cover pop-ups and slipcases, now collector’s items.
Published in 2005 by Candlewick Press, Dinosaurs, the first installment features six main spreads, each with a large central pop-up, plus over 35 smaller booklets, flaps, and interactive elements showcasing dinosaurs like T. rex, raptors, armored “shield bearers,” and long-necked giants.
The book evokes awe and discovery, blending lighthearted humor—such as a Victorian dinner inside a dinosaur model or scientists tugging bones—with precise, colorful paper engineering that makes creatures leap, fly, or erupt from volcanoes. Reviewers describe it as breathtaking and immersive, like unearthing fossils layer by layer, though its delicacy warns against rough handling by young children.
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It pushed boundaries with unprecedented pop-up density and mechanics, earning acclaim as a pinnacle of the form and influencing future works by demonstrating how education, art, and interactivity could merge in collectible volumes for all ages.
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Sharks and Other Sea Monsters, the second volume in the trilogy, was published in 2006 by Candlewick Press. It dives into prehistoric ocean life across eras—from Paleozoic invertebrates like giant scorpions to Mesozoic reptiles and Cenozoic mammals—featuring over 35 pop-ups, including massive central displays of creatures like megalodon, sarcosuchus, and pterygotus, plus foldout booklets with extra facts.
The book immerses readers in a thrilling, predatory underwater realm with a sense of danger and wonder, evoking “eat or be eaten” chaos through watery, filmy effects, dynamic pop-ups that burst forth like lurking predators, and chatty, lively text blending horror and humor. Its colorful, multi-layered engineering creates a cinematic depth, astonishing viewers while demanding careful handling.
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As a sequel to Dinosaurs, it elevated the series’ ambition with even more intricate sea-themed mechanics (e.g., jaws snapping, squid uncoiling), solidifying Sabuda and Reinhart’s reputation for merging rigorous science with record-breaking paper artistry, inspiring complex, thematic pop-up encyclopedias.
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The third and final volume: Mega Beasts, published in 2007 by Candlewick Press, spotlights Ice Age and Cenozoic giants like woolly mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, indricotherium (a 20-foot-tall hornless rhino), short-faced bears taller than basketball hoops, prehistoric Yeti-like mammals, extinct birds, and giant flying lizards across six spreads with over 35 pop-ups, including side-pocket booklets and flaps.
It delivers a climactic rush of raw power and extinction-era drama, with ferocious beasts pouncing, lunging, or towering aggressively toward the reader amid colorful, action-packed layers that evoke a “stand back” thrill—blending awe at their scale, historical discovery notes, and a humbling sense of prehistoric might in a visually explosive finale to the trilogy.
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Capping the series, it showcased peak complexity in multi-layered, thematic mechanics (e.g., mammoth trunks swinging, saber-tooths mid-leap), cementing Sabuda and Reinhart as 3D masters who redefined pop-up books as high-art educational collectibles, influencing bolder, science-driven interactivity in the genre.
After a 2nd cooperation between Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda on the Encyclopedia Mythologica, they both parted and succesfully went on pushing the limits of pop up books …
Matthew Reinhart (1971-…)
Born September 21, 1971, Reinhart is an American paper engineer who entered pop-ups via dark humor with The Pop-up Book of Phobias (1999) (for examples of those, see episode 6 of this blogpost series).
He later shifted to children’s titles, collaborating with Sabuda on bestsellers like Encyclopedia Prehistorica and Encyclopedia Mythologica.
Reinhart (who was actually a student of Sabuda), who worked with Sabuda early in his career, tends toward dense detail and exuberant color.
Reinhart’s later solo works, such as franchise‑based titles (like e.g.: Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Harry Potter), show him taking this vocabulary into even more complex territory: starfighters streak out, robots unfold from flatness, dragons unfurl wings that extend beyond the page edges. Here the extravagance reaches a kind of baroque: multiple mechanisms trigger with a single opening, and the book becomes a choreographed paper machine.
Reinhart started with two of his early solo works, from before his apprenticeship and cooperation with Robert Sabuda. These are 1999’s Pop up book of Phobias and 2001’s Pop up book of Nightmares, which I described both in episode 6.
So what makes Reinhart really special and innovative, even more than Sabuda? Well in the next couple of later solo pop up books of large movie franchises, he shows us why. Not only can we flip through these books, we also can detach the spine and unfold large dioramas or 3D maps of all the pop ups. That is quite a new development or at the very least a development new in this size. Yes Meggendorfer created dioramas too (e.g. The city park), but not this size and not this spectacular. These are extravagant in their techniques and in the sheer numbers of seperate pop ups included.
Enjoy!
Matthew Reinhart’s Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros, published in 2014 by Insight Editions and illustrated by Michael Komarck, features five large spreads that unfold into a stunning pop-up map of Westeros. It recreates iconic locations like Winterfell, King’s Landing, and the Wall, plus mini pop-ups of direwolves, dragons, White Walkers, and giants, accompanied by lore on the Seven Kingdoms’ history.
The book captures the HBO series’ epic, gritty fantasy through dynamic paper engineering inspired by the show’s clockwork opening sequence, evoking intrigue, peril, and spectacle as castles rise, gates swing open, and creatures emerge in a visually immersive tour of a brutal world.
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This solo work by Reinhart set a new benchmark for licensed pop-up adaptations by transforming sequential spreads into a single, displayable map—a feat of modular engineering that expanded pop-ups into collectible fan art, blending narrative depth with interactive spectacle and influencing media-tie-in designs.
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Published in 2019 by Insight Editions, Matthew Reinhart’s Star Wars: The Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy spans the entire saga across all nine films (up to The Rise of Skywalker), with illustrations by Kevin M. Wilson. It features five elaborate spreads that unfold into a 360-degree displayable diorama of key battles and locations, including interactive elements like pull-tabs for snowspeeders on Hoth, Millennium Falcon escapes, and lightsaber duels, packed with droids, vehicles, Jedi, Sith, and planets like Tatooine and Mustafar.
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Reinhart’s design pioneered panoramic, modular dioramas in pop-up format—spreads linking into a single 3D display—elevating licensed media books to sophisticated engineering feats with intricate pull-tabs and 360-degree views, proving pop-ups could rival digital effects as premium collectibles and inspiring ambitious franchise adaptations.
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Matthew Reinhart’s Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to the Creatures of the Wizarding World, a bit based on J.K Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and where to find them, captures a magical, immersive feel that evokes childlike wonder and cinematic excitement.
Its general atmosphere blends enchanting fantasy with meticulous craftsmanship, turning flat pages into a three-dimensional menagerie where beasts like dragons, Buckbeak the hippogriff, centaurs, werewolves, and the Basilisk burst forth in dynamic scenes.
The book radiates a sense of exhilarating discovery through gorgeous, original illustrations paired with behind-the-scenes film facts, creating a deluxe collectible that feels both nostalgic and innovative.
Reinhart’s signature style emphasizes “movie magic,” with creatures leaping vividly from the page to mimic their on-screen drama, fostering a playful yet sophisticated tone suitable for all ages.
Five intricately detailed pop-up spreads dominate, loaded with pull tabs, hidden pops, and Easter eggs that invite hands-on exploration and surprise reveals.
These elements heighten the “pure magic” sensation, as structures rise, twist, and animate—requiring 360-degree viewing in some cases for full appreciation, much like Reinhart’s Hogwarts guide.
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For pop-up engineering, the book exemplifies Reinhart’s focus on multi-layered mechanics: intricate folds for creature movements (e.g., dragon wings or basilisk coils), pull-tabs for action commands, and concealed elements for layered reveals, prioritizing durability in a large-format hardcover.
This approach advances pop-up development by balancing complexity with accessibility—dozens of surprises per spread teach narrative pacing through paper, blending storytelling with tactile engineering to deepen thematic immersion in fantasy worlds.
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Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts is an interactive pop-up book created by renowned paper engineer Matthew Reinhart, published by Insight Editions in October 2018. It serves as a 3D collectible guide to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, drawing directly from the Harry Potter films with detailed pop-up recreations of key locations like the Great Hall, moving staircases, Forbidden Forest, Quidditch pitch, and beyond, plus mini-pops of iconic elements such as the Marauder’s Map and Flying Ford Anglia. The book unfolds flat into a comprehensive pop-up map of the castle and grounds, accompanied by insightful text on film-specific Hogwarts lore, making it a must-have for fans seeking an immersive, tactile exploration of the wizarding world.
This work immerses readers in Hogwarts’ architecture and daily life through elaborate engineering, blending education with play—visitors “tour” classrooms, dormitories, and exteriors via layered spreads that activate with pulls and folds, enhanced by illustrator Kevin M. Wilson’s film-accurate artwork. Unlike static guides, it transforms the school into a multidimensional model, emphasizing spatial storytelling from King’s Cross to the Ministry of Magic.
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Reinhart advances pop-up techniques here with hybrid large-scale architecture (e.g., a multi-layered castle) and intricate mini-pops integrated into pages, including interactive flaps like a Jacob’s Ladder-inspired teacher reveal and peekaboo windows into classes. Iterative design refined bulkier prototypes into sleeker, user-friendly mechanisms with releasable tabs for the map, pushing boundaries in precision folding and multi-axis movement for licensed fantasy properties.
As a New York Times bestselling engineer’s high-profile Harry Potter project, it elevated pop-up books’ commercial viability for major IPs, inspiring advanced mechanics in subsequent interactive titles while demonstrating scalable complexity for mass production. Its success—evident in global sales and fan acclaim—validated Reinhart’s approach to blending film fidelity with engineering, influencing the genre’s shift toward cinematic, collectible experiences.
Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Diagon Alley and Beyond is Matthew Reinhart’s immersive follow-up to his Hogwarts pop-up guide, published by Insight Editions in October 2020. This New York Times bestselling paper engineer’s work recreates London’s magical Diagon Alley and key wizarding spots like Gringotts, Ollivanders, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, the Leaky Cauldron, Ministry of Magic, and Platform 9¾ through intricate, film-inspired pop-ups, interactive pull-tabs for scenes like rescuing the Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon or navigating Knockturn Alley, and film lore facts, all unfolding into a stunning 4-foot 3D diorama complete with character standees for play.
Reinhart and illustrator Kevin M. Wilson transport fans into Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s shopping adventures with layered spreads that pop into bustling streetscapes and interiors, blending narrative storytelling, hidden surprises, and hands-on mechanics to evoke the films’ vibrant energy.
The dual format—page-turning book or expansive display—enhances replayability, turning static lore into a dynamic “dollhouse” of the wizarding world.
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Building on Hogwarts techniques, this book refines multi-layered street architecture with releasable tabs, pull mechanisms for dynamic action (e.g., dragon escapes, Floo mishaps), and integrated mini-elements like character figures, achieving sleeker scalability for larger dioramas while maintaining precision in crowded compositions. These advances push hybrid interactivity, combining pop-ups with dollhouse play for deeper engagement.
Personally I think this might be his very best work, because of the diorama and the pop up of Gringots Wizarding Bank which shows the underground vaults as well.
As Reinhart’s second Harry Potter triumph, it solidified pop-up books as premium collectibles for blockbuster IPs, boosting sales and inspiring publishers to invest in ambitious, production-ready complexity for fantasy worlds amid rising demand for tactile media.
Its diorama innovation influenced subsequent titles toward modular, displayable designs, elevating the genre’s commercial and artistic prestige.
The diorama can be walked around and on one side Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley can be seen …
… while the other side shows Platform nine and three quarters and the Ministery of Magic …
Who is the GOAT of Pop up?
Comparing both I would say that in the end Reinhart’s work is the more extravagant, beating Sabuda in trying out new and older concepts and stretching them to their limits, but Sabuda beats Reinhart in sturdiness of his designs even when streched to their limits. Where Reinharts work can sometimes fail after multiple use and even look a bit flimsy, Sabuda’s work keeps always working well. There is a first in this where a very recent Reinhart book about Godzilla does not perform well at all. Whether this is a failure in design is doubtful though. It is probably a failure in production, but it does show that his designs have are to be produced very precisely to work correctly. This clearly has considerable risks. This has to weighed against the fact that without risk there’s no significant progression.
Who is the best? I can’t make a choice.
Sabuda and Reinhart’s connection—mentor and collaborator, then parallel solo careers—shaped a generation’s idea of what “modern” pop‑up books look like: ambitious, lavishly produced, and consciously designed for both children and adult collectors.
Succession?
Were or are Sabuda and Reinhart unrivaled or is there possible succession?
Well if there is succession, and I think there is, it does not come from Europe or the US, but from China and other Asian countries like e.g. Iran.
In the 21st century there are a lot of very impressive pop up books originating in China available.
Asian pop-up artists from Iran, China, and beyond have innovated in the 21st century by blending cultural heritage, folklore, and modern paper engineering, often focusing on epic narratives, ethnic identities, and interactive storytelling. Iranian creators draw from Persian mythology like the Shahnameh, while Chinese artists explore minority cultures and ancient poetry through oversized, photographic pop-ups. Their work has gained international acclaim via exhibitions, awards, and collaborations, though distribution challenges persist due to politics and production costs.
Iranian Pop-Up Artists
Hamid Rahmanian, an Iranian-American artist and director, has revitalized Persian epics through intricate pop-ups; his The Seven Trials of Rostam (2022, with paper engineer Simon Arizpe) depicts the hero’s battles against demons and witches from the Shahnameh, featuring 12 mechanics across 8 pages in a limited edition (reprinting Spring 2026).
Rostam
This follows his award-winning Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King (2018), which won the Meggendorfer Prize for best pop-up and inspired workshops on Shahnameh adaptations.
Rahmanian’s books emphasize vibrant illustrations and cultural preservation, produced at Fictionville Studio with support from Iranian diaspora foundations.
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The Seven Trials of Rostam is a stunning pop-up book by artist and designer Hamid Rahmanian, with paper engineering by Simon Arizpe and text by Melissa Hibbard, produced by Fictionville Studio in a limited run of 4500 English-Persian bilingual copies around 2022, housed in a slipcase with 8 intricate pages depicting the legendary hero Rostam’s perilous quest to rescue Iran’s foolish King Kay Kavous from the White Demon in enchanted Mazandaran.
This work adapts a core episode from Ferdowsi’s 10th-century epic Shahnameh, showcasing Rostam’s battles against wild animals, demons, witches, and more alongside his loyal horse Rakhsh, transforming ancient Persian mythology into a vibrant, handmade interactive experience that celebrates cultural heritage through tactile storytelling.
Rahmanian’s book follows Rostam’s seven heroic trials in sequence, with each spread bursting into dynamic scenes of combat and peril, blending traditional Persian motifs with modern illustration to educate and immerse readers in Iran’s mythic past, much like his prior award-winning pop-up Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King.
The bilingual format and enclosed instructional video enhance accessibility, turning a linear epic into a multidimensional adventure.
Featuring 12 elaborate mechanics across its pages, the book employs advanced paper engineering like layered demon battles, animal assaults, and magical transformations, all handcrafted for seamless operation and visual drama, building on Arizpe’s expertise from previous collaborations.
Its compact yet explosive designs showcase precision in multi-plane movements and hidden reveals, optimized for limited-edition production.
Following the Meggendorfer Prize-winning Zahhak, this title advanced pop-up adaptations of non-Western epics, proving handmade complexity viable for niche cultural narratives and inspiring further Shahnameh projects like the upcoming Epic Adventures of Shahnameh pop-up slated for 2026.
Rahmanian’s success elevated Persian storytelling in global interactive publishing, fostering demand for artist-led, heritage-focused engineering.
Chinese Pop-Up Artists
Colette Fu (傅三三), of Chinese descent, creates large-scale pop-ups from her photography, documenting ethnic minorities; her We Are Tiger Dragon People series (started 2008, via Fulbright) captures Yunnan’s 25 minority groups in exuberant, multi-layered spreads exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Fu designed China’s largest pop-up book during a Shanghai residency and series like My First Pop-Up Books (post-grad, 16×24″ volumes with tabs and foldouts) and Tao Hua Yuan Ji (on Jin Dynasty poetry utopia).
She teaches workshops internationally, focusing on themes of diaspora, nature, and folklore in projects like Noodle Mountain.
A more on western popular franchise based example of chinese pop up artistry is The Lord of the Rings.
This book comes in a slipcase …
The Lord of the Rings Pop-Up Book (Chinese: 魔戒 立体书) is a lavish Chinese adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy, engineered by pioneering paper artist Wang Wei and published around 2024-2025 amid a surge of new Chinese editions following the works’ entry into public domain there.
Available via platforms like Temu and AliExpress in a “genuine” hardcover format, it features intricate pop-up scenes exploring Middle-earth’s realms, including a standout Moria spread with dramatic layered architecture, Balrog encounters, and unfolding pathways that evoke the Fellowship’s perilous journey through the mines.
This book transforms Tolkien’s narrative into a visual, interactive odyssey with multi-page spreads depicting iconic locales like Moria, Hobbiton, and Mordor, blending detailed Chinese illustrations with pull-tabs and 3D elements to immerse readers in the films’ and book’s mythic scope, often sold as a collector’s item with high-quality printing for global fans. It capitalizes on post-2023 copyright lapse, offering bilingual accessibility and film-inspired fidelity for a new audience.
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Wang Wei’s engineering shines in expansive, telescoping structures—like Moria’s vast halls with movable bridges and fiery reveals—alongside mini-pops for characters and creatures, achieving a balance of grand scale and precise mechanics suited to mass-market Chinese production techniques refined from his award-winning works like Opening the Forbidden City. These designs emphasize depth and narrative flow through sequential activations.
Emerging from China’s pop-up renaissance (sparked by Journey to the West adaptations), this title demonstrates Western epics’ viability in the format, boosting Wang Wei’s profile as a Meggendorfer Prize recipient and fueling demand for ambitious, affordable imports that rival Western publishers like Reinhart’s Harry Potter series. Its success highlights pop-up globalization, inspiring hybrid cultural adaptations amid booming e-commerce distribution.
Other Asian Developments
Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground Pop-up Book (2021) uses pictographic symbols in interactive pop-outs to explore universal communication, expanding his conceptual art into tactile, low-tech experiences.
China’s pop-up scene has grown with skilled engineers matching Western masters like Sabuda, producing complex books for the Asian market amid evolving paper tech.
While Iranian picture book illustrators (e.g., Morteza Zahedi) excel internationally, true pop-up specialists like Rahmanian bridge tradition and innovation despite sanctions limiting access.
Following all this lavish, exuberant pop up extravaganza, anotger development of pop up books… ehm … popped up as a reaction. More of that will follow soon in the final 8th episode of this History of interactive books blogpost series.