ABC3D by Marion Bataille

From the Publisher

"Easily the most innovative alpabet book of the year, if not the decade... Beyond clever."?The Washington Post Prepare to be amazed. From the lenticular cover that changes with the angle of your hands all the way to the Z, ABC3D is as much a work of art as it is a pop-up book. Each of the 26 three-dimensional letters move and change before your eyes. C turns into D with a snap. M stands at attention. X becomes Y with a flick of the wrist. And then there's U...Boldly conceived and brilliantly executed with a striking black, red, and white palette, this is a book that readers and art lovers of all ages will treasure for years to come.

The New York Times - Becca Zerkin

A deceptively simple yet sophisticated idea animates ABC3D, by the French graphic designer Marion Bataille. Her small, chunky pop-up book has no content save for the letters themselves, but I wanted to read it again and again…Bataille's colors are bold and simple. Each capital letter is rendered in white, black or red, and appears against a solid white or black background. As a design piece, the book is both elegant and clever.

The Washington Post - Kristi Jemtegaard

The forthcoming ABC3D, by Marion Bataille, a French book designer, does for paper what Claymation did for mud. It's a three-dimensional, interactive, cinematic treat for the littlest fingers right on up to the oldest eyes, easily the most innovative alphabet book of the year, if not the decade. It's virtually impossible not to find something to manipulate, admire, chuckle over or just plain play with between the holographic covers of this visual feast.

Publishers Weekly

From the lenticular cover to the jazzy use of a red, white and black color scheme, this hand-size French alphabet book is as stylish as a pop-up can be. Letters here not only pop up, they move and transform. As the reader turns the page, the curves of the letter B slide out from a column thinly striped in red: they appear as narrowly spaced concentric arcs, creating an almost hypnotic effect. C flips over to become the curve of D; G goes from upright to prone-but then tricks the eye again; and on and on. Many letters are three-dimensional (i.e., the legs of H are hollow paper rectangles), and gain extra glamour from high-contrast backgrounds (white on black; red or black on white). A-plus for drama and innovation. All ages. (Oct.)

Children's Literature

There is no text here, simply the letters of the alphabet from A to Z, revealed as the hand-size pages are turned, some singly but others integrated as they share a page. The techniques used to produce the third dimension are intriguingly inventive, many rarely if ever used in other pop-up books. Clearly a graphic designer is at work. A pops up, not out. B emerges from a fold as the page is turned. C becomes D as we open it. O and P become Q and R with a translucent overlay. The V becomes W as it is reflected in the facing mirror. The X loses a leg and becomes Y as the reader opens the spread pages. Repeated inspection of the means of movement is stimulated, followed perhaps by attempts to design some amazing letters of one's own. Take time to appreciate the "lenticular cover," simulating a third dimension. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Kirkus Reviews

From its quad-lenticular cover (presenting A, B, C and D, depending on the angle of view) to its 3-dimensional Z, this is one showboat of a pop-up book. Remarkable paper mechanics cause some members of the alphabet to mutate and morph into their successive characters through the use of slides, pivots and peek-a-boos, while other letters stand alone in daring 3-D splendor. Perhaps the most magical pages are the translucent overlay that transforms O and P to Q and R, and the mirrored spread that converts V to W. Meant to be relished, not read (despite its bold palette of black-and-white-and-red–all over), this is too fragile for flip handling and won't likely find a place on public-library shelves, but for alphabet-book collectors and paper-engineering enthusiasts, it's an absolute delight. (Toy book. All ages)

Product Details