I’ve always been delighted by pop-up books, and I’ve thought about trying to make one myself, but I’ve never done more than a very simple pop-up card. Lucky for me, the French artist and illustrator Arno has created a do-it-yourself pop-up book, complete with pre-cut shapes and easy to follow instructions.
A Tiger in My Garden is a colorful and imaginative book that folds out like an accordion into 5 “unplanted” gardens. You get to cultivate them, adding the plants and the sculpture then you can wander with a mysterious, mustachioed tiger through them.
Inspired by the late artist Derek Jarman’s unique garden on the coast of Kent, England, Arno has provided the graphics to create a French, Japanese, Arabian, tropical, and one dreamlike garden.
The book opens with a poem on the dedication page:
“Is it possible, in this city, without a soul
— where from the back of their buses
the bored tourists gaze—
is it possible, to find a place for a stroll?
I do admit, last Saturday,
I happened by chance to find my way
into, into into an extraordinary garden.
–Charles Trent, An Extraordinary Garden, 1957
A Tiger in My Garden is a visual love poem to gardens.
This book is for children ages 7 and up, but I really think it’s a book for the family. It’s a little too complicated for just a 7 year old child. It helps to have minds of all ages working together in the gardens
It would be a great project for a family night, or an activity with grandparents.
What a lovely way to spend winter evenings when gardens are resting and nights are long.
Working one a week, you can make a long term project that finally finishes off with a beautiful pop-up book.
At the end, you may just have all the tools you need to create your very own pop-up designs.
A Tiger In My Garden is published Prestel, who prints excellent art and children’s books.
If you like pop-ups, check out these reviews, too:
Thanks for reading my blog. Do you have a favorite pop-up book?
