Nature Pop-Ups: Minibeasts
Spring is a perfect time to explore nature and the world around us, and this delightful pop-up book does a wonderful job of bringing the beauty and wonder of the average garden into the reader’s hands. Minibeasts is a non-fiction pop-up treasure for young minds, with six wonderful spreads which each feature a ‘minibeast,’ usually of the insect kind, that can regularly be found in a European garden.
The text is simple and minimal, so that the book can be enjoyed mostly at a tactile and visual level, although more facts about each minibeast are included on the page if desired. The real stars of the show here are the delightfully bright and vivid illustrations and the fantastic paper engineering. Le’s painterly style does a wonderful job of evoking bright sunny scenes of nature, with bold colours and a joyful focus on lush foliage of many kinds. Yoojin Kim’s paper engineered creations are a wonder on each page, and are guaranteed to inspire youthful gasps of amazement – it’s impossible to pick a favourite one, which will lead to repeated examinations!
This book is not recommended for children under the age of three due to the risk with small parts, so it’s possible that a little more info could have been added for those older children seeking more facts, but perhaps the joy lies in the minimal text, and allowing children to appreciate the wonder of nature simply for how beautiful it is. A lovely non-fiction book to treasure and share.
