Astounding.

What's the most fun you've ever had with a piece of art before?

The most fun I've ever had, I have to confess, is opening this book to the pages featuring the Wizard's famous hot air balloon. The set piece, shiny and with its own basket holding the wizard, jumps quite literally off the pages, then swings back and forth in front of you. The amount of joy I experienced with this book at that moment was immeasurable.

What's fun about the book, which also has this huge, swirling cyclone in its opening pages that jumps out at you, is that it also remains surprisingly faithful to L. Frank Baum's original WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, keeping much of the text intact (though, for obvious reasons, the book is not taken and reprinted verbatim) while having the pop-up art serve as a variation upon the original illustrations when possible.

I got one of these for myself, one for all the little girls in my family and one for a friend in my office who just needed cheering up one day. It inspires you to read the great story. It inspires you to play with the emerald-colored glasses and all the pop-up images in the side flaps.

I was a fan of pop-up books as a kid, but this is the best, most accessible and most beautiful one I have ever held in my hands.

Whoa, mama!

Whether you collect pop-up books or have never opened one before, please check this one out! This is Robert Sabuda, getting better every year, at his best. The abridged text is true to Baum's original, meaning that if you only know the movie you'll find differences. There's more text than in a lot of pop-up books, which is fine with me, since pop-ups make such good "out-loud" reading. But what pop-ups! The first pages open with a twisting cyclone! There's a full layout of the Emerald City, and there's a scene depicting the launch of the hot-air balloon. He's even included a pair of emerald green "glasses." And there are mini-pop-ups throughout. Honestly, I think you will fall in love with this puppy. And think about all the people on your gift list who are kids at heart and would love to experience this book.

Made my eyes pop up!

Sabuda is a genius. There are popups inside of popups in this book. Each page has a large popup tableau, then on the sides are more popups in sub-books that contain the text. I would recommend this book to kids ages 5 and up. And I do mean 'And Up', since as an adult this book still blows me away.

One thing that boggles my mind is how Sabuda's books are created. I'd like to tour the 'factory' or whatever. Because for the amount of time it took to create each copy of the book the cost is TRIVIAL.