I Love You: A Pop-up Book

Carter pairs abstracted and at times almost architectural pop-ups with a love poem stocked with metaphors. “You are a gentle wave and... I love you,” he writes, as thin strips of white paper fan out across a neon green spread in a way that conjures the image of a Calatrava bridge. Throughout, the “I” in “I love you” is represented by an icon of a human eye (why isn’t entirely clear), and readers can look for another readily recognizable symbol: a red heart, hidden amid pop-ups that evoke tree branches and mobiles, and sometimes make noise (“You are the rhythm of my soul and... I love you”). It’s a fittingly abstract take on a concept that can be hard to define. Ages 5–8. (Dec.)