Spider-Man & Friends Pop-Up: Fun and Games

Background

This pop-up book is the second in a "Ready for Adventure" series of Spider-Man pop-up books for toddlers, written by Michi Fukimoto and produced by Paradise Books. It stars the "Spider-Man & Friends" licensed characters. The four major characters from that team are kiddie versions of Spider-Man, Spider-Girl (his cousin), Hulk (green but not angry) and Captain America.

The book itself is 5" x 7" with thick padded covers. Each book in the four-book series is 10 pages, featuring five "centerfold" double-page images, each featuring a single, very simple popup which is best visible when the book is open at a right angle. Each page features text of a single paragraph, one or two sentences.

Story Details

The carnival is in town again. What are the friends going to do first? The rides! This features a single large pop-up which fills much of the page.

First stop, ferris wheel. Now the team knows what the view is like for Spidey. Spidey is the pop-up, he doesn't need to go on the ferris wheel, he swings high out of the page.

Then the bumper cars. This is one of the few double pop-ups, there's one pop-up for Captain America's bumper car, and one for the Hulk. Good thing Cap has his shield. Hulk BUMP!

The the rotating swing ride. Spider-Girl uses her webbing instead as she pops-up out of the scene.

One last panel. Hulk pops out of the page as he tries the "test your strength" machine. He rings the bell... right off the top and into the air. No fair!

General Comments

Meh, how can you not love this stuff. Many people do, judging by the number of people who write to us asking how they can order these books (Amazon or eBay is the answer). The art is dopey and harmless, but the writing is totally charming.

My original feeling of "aw no, say it isn't so" when first seeing the Spider-Man and Friends characters has long been replaced with a "gee, these guys are great".

Overall Rating

Four webs and a highly recommended for the nappy-wrapped SpiderFan in your family.