Amazon.com
Every Robert Sabuda pop-up is a marvel, but America the Beautiful is singularly remarkable for its inspired interpretation of the classic American anthem. Each page presents a magnificent pop-up featuring a line from the first (and best known) verse of "America the Beautiful." Sabuda has included the song in its entirety, featuring mini pop-ups, in a small booklet on the final page. Beginning with the Golden Gate Bridge, and ending with a spectacularly regal Statue of Liberty, Sabuda's America the Beautiful is a lovely keepsake that also serves as a patriotic primer for teaching young ones about America. --Daphne Durham
Amazon.com's The Significant Seven
Master paper engineer Robert Sabuda answers the seven questions we ask every author.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. I specifically remember feeling as if I'd become a grown-up reader because many of the pages did not have pictures.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: The Stand by Stephen King
Madonna's Greatest Hits
Strangers with Candy: Season One
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: That I'd be finishing a book project on time.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: I live in New York City, so anyplace that's quiet.
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "Robert Sabuda--Bookmaker."
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Benjamin Franklin
Q: If you could have one superpower what would it be?
A: Invisibility
From School Library Journal
K Up–New and astonishing feats of paper engineering lurk within the bulging covers of Sabuda's latest creation. Here, taking the first verse of our other national anthem as his text, he flies viewers from the Golden Gate Bridge, over waves of grain beneath a spinning windmill, past Mount Rushmore, Mesa Verde, a Mississippi river boat, and the National Capitol, to Lady Liberty–then, within a small inset booklet, pairs the Twin Towers, a swinging Liberty Bell, and other American symbols to the rest of the stanzas. Aside from the aforementioned bridge, plus an occasional foil highlight, the pop-up effects are an undecorated white that gleams like those "alabaster cities" against the generally solid color fields on which they are set. The very last line, which contains a reference to America's "whiter jubilee," has an odd ring to it these days, and some of the pop-ups are so complexly folded that they'll rip if their spreads aren't opened carefully: still, each opening will elicit gasps, and the poem's soaring imagery has never been better served.–John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Sabuda's pop-up "America the Beautiful" presents stately paper sculptures of icons of the American landscape, rendered primarily in marmoreal white. The engineering is a bit creakier than it was in his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (2003), and the large, complex constructions--especially Mesa Verde, whose contours may be less familiar than, say, the adjacent pop-up of Mount Rushmore--would have benefited from variations of color and texture. Nonetheless, this will add a welcome flourish to election- and inauguration-themed displays. Metallic embellishments on the cover and throughout will dazzle children, as will finely wrought details such as the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue visible through the columns of the Lincoln Memorial, and an inset minibook containing all verses to the song (and, of course, its own tiny pops). For contrast, pull out Chris Gill's color-drenched America the Beautiful [BKL My 1 04] or Barbara Younger's story of the song's origins, Purple Mountain Majesties (1998). Occasional bits of plastic and string make this unsuitable for children under five to use without adult supervision, but children younger than the target audience, as well as grown-ups, will also enjoy browsing. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Master paper engineer Robert Sabuda has interpreted the classic American anthem "America the Beautiful" in dazzling dimension. From the Golden Gate Bridge to Mount Rushmore to the Statue of Liberty, America has never looked more spectacular. This stunning keepsake masterpiece will be shared and admired by generations to come; indeed it is a national treasure in and of itself.
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