Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book

Seder makes his children’s book debut with his groundbreaking Scanimation technology in this primer on motion that actually depicts a variety of animals running, swinging from trees or in flight. Readers will gasp with delight when they open this book, produced as paper-over-board: a hidden tab in each heavy page slides an acetate layer printed with vertical black lines over an encoded, detailed image of a horse, rooster, turtle or other creature, and the layers’ interaction creates the illusion of motion. The black-and-white images openly reference the motion photography of Eadweard Muybridge (an influence that Seder acknowledges on the copyright page) and they contrast with the bright palette used for the spare, reader-directed text. (“Can you soar like an eagle?/ Whoosh-whoosh-glide!/ Can you swing like a chimp?/ Swoop-swoop-slide!”) This book may encourage plenty of galloping—and jumping, running and bounding—on the part of young readers; adults will find it a marvel to look at in its own right. Ages 3-up. (Dec.)