Mythology makers
Gods And Heroes is the second pop-up book in the amazing Encyclopedia Mythologica series. We catch up with its creators, Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart…
NG Kids: Hi guys. What a cool job you have! So, what do you call a person who makes pop-up books?
Robert Sabuda: Well, we're called 'paper engineers'. I guess it’s just a fancy way to say 'pop-up maker'!
Robert loves being a paper engineer!
NGK: When did you decide that you wanted to make pop-up books?
RS: When I finished university I went to art school then worked for a publisher of children’s books. I became a picture-book illustrator and taught myself how to make pop-ups from looking at how other people’s pop-up books worked.
Matthew Reinhart: I started working with Robert and although I originally wanted to be a toy designer, I was interested in and it was a lot of fun.
NGK: Where do your ideas come from?
RS: My head is like a TV with a hundred channels on, so I always have ideas in there! There are some that will never get made, but they are always floating around in my head.
MR: Often you see something or read a book and think: “That would make a great pop-up!”
Matthew preparing a pop-up
NGK: What advice would you give to any budding paper engineers?
MR: There are only about 36 paper engineers on the planet, so if you want to make pop-up books for a living then you can do that. You can do whatever it is you want to do.
RS: Draw, build, make and enjoy, because when you get older you lose touch with your creative side. Keep going at it – don’t give up and don’t stop.
Gods And Heroes by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda is out now priced £19.99, available from bookshops and at walker.co.uk ! For pop-up making tips, head to robertsabuda.com