Be very careful when opening up the Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy by Matthew Reinhart -- at bookstores now from Scholastic -- or you may find yourself face to face with a ferocious rancor monster, a charging AT-AT and Darth Vader himself.
The first spread is devoted to the planets of the galaxy, like Tatooine, Alderaan, Bespin and even the Death Star," Reinhart reveals. "In fact, a huge AT-AT plods forward on the page, re-enacting the savage battle of Hoth! Each chapter details other aspects of the galaxy such as: Sentient Species and Beasts, the Rebellion versus the Empire, Rogues and Scoundrels, Galactic Vehicles, and even the Power of the Force with a completely three-dimensional helmet of the Dark Lord of the Sith himself and illuminated lightsabers! I don't want to give away too many of the surprises, but trust me, just about everybody and everything important is inside the book."
Featuring more than 35 different pop-ups, the book has a unique interactive experience under each flap. As a renowned paper engineer and hardcore Star Wars fan, Reinhart says it's hard for him to pick his favorite pop-up page in the book. "I love all of them so it's hard to pick just a few," Reinhart says. "My favorites are the Hoth battle on the first spread with the stomping AT-AT, and the rancor with thrashing claws and a doomed Gamorrean in his clutches."
Reinhart isn't the only one who loved the rancor monster as it explodes from the pages. Recently, television host Stephen Colbert featured the book on "The Colbert Report" and was delighted by the unexpected pop-up as he opened the book and said, "Oh...oh...oh that is cool!"
In addition to Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, Reinhart worked as the paper engineer of the New York Times best illustrated children's book and bestseller, MOMMY? by Arthur Yorinks and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, as well as on The Jungle Book Pop-Up, The Cinderella Pop-Up, The Pop-Up Book of Nightmares, and The Pop-Up Book of Phobias. He also has worked with Robert Sabuda on many wonderful pop-up books, such as the bestselling Encyclopedia Preshistorica series.
"I've always been an artist since I was a kid," Reinhart explains. "I liked the few pop-up books I saw in stores, but I only had one as a child. I got a dinosaur pop-up book as a reward after a little medical procedure in first grade. The only thing I really remember about it was that all the dinosaurs' heads were ripped out, since my little sister Erin got to it an hour or so after I brought the book home. Erin typically destroyed things I liked; she especially liked biting the heads off of all my Princess Leia figures."
As Reinhart started to hone his artistic skills, he "toyed" with the idea of a different kind of career. "Even though I studied biology in undergraduate school, I took figure drawing and sculpture classes as well. After college, I went to the prestigious art school Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, to study industrial design. I really wanted to be a toy designer for Kenner and Hasbro! I am a huge Star Wars figure and Transformers collector, and I wanted to be a part of the toy designing process. I eventually interned with Robert Sabuda during my time at Pratt, and found out that I really liked making pop-ups."
For the Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, Reinhart took extra care to get the details just right, from obscure characters lurking inside the cantina to the subtle motion of Princess Leia revealing her face from the hood on her white robe dress. The book has multiple pop-ups within other pop-up flaps to supply readers with hours of enjoyment. But perhaps the most memorable feature of the book is the pop-up duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader complete with light up lightsabers.
Reinhart hopes that fans of all ages will love his book as much as he did making it. "It was also the toughest project I've ever done, and most complicated book I've ever constructed," Reinhart says. "I was obsessed with getting everything right while still interpreting the galaxy in my unique way. It was so amazing to be able to make the Star Wars universe come to life in paper -- it was an absolute dream come true! I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, not just an 'Oh, yeah, I liked the movie a lot' fan. I mean a 'read every book, check every website, buy every figure' sort of fan. Star Wars is one of the sole reasons I am an artist today. The collaboration of artists over the last thirty years always inspired me, and it made me see that I could make a living in the arts doing what I loved."
Learn more about the making of the Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy here.
Stay tuned to Starwars.com for more exclusive coverage and surprises about the Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy.
