The Children’s Book Review | July 15, 2009
Gallop! and Swing!, NY Times bestsellers, are two very special books created by the very talented Rufus Butler Seder. These are two books that sell themselves based on the sheer amusement they provide to anyone that lays an eye on them. They walk themselves right off the check-out counter (which is where they are always strategically placed for an easy hand-sell) and straight into shopping bags (hopefully the recyclable type).
Seder has used a new, patented technology called Scanimation, a “state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the “persistence of vision” principle with a striped acetate overlay to
give the illusion of movement.” In simple terms, Scanimation is an optical illusion that makes objects, animals, people, you-name-it, leap to life on the page. Gallop! is sure to appeal to animal lovers, and Swing! is great for sports fanatics or kids that love to move (do you know one that doesn’t?). Most of the images in the books began as gift cards, so it’s easy to see why they have transitioned so easily into the perfect gift-book. Rufus Butler Seder, a star is what you are!
We can’t wait for Seder’s next creation, Waddle!, to be released in October! Take a look at all three of the Scanimation books …
Gallop!
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 12 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (November 22, 2007)
Publisher’s synopsis: There’s never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It’s impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.
A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the “persistence of vision” principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!
Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.
Add this book to your collection: Gallop!
Swing!
by Rufus Butler Seder
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 12 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (October 15, 2008)
Publisher’s synopsis: Published last fall, Gallop! introduced the amazing technology called Scanimation and took the children’s book world by storm. It became an instant bestseller—#1 on The New York Times children’s list.
Now Swing! does for kids what Gallop! does for animals—a boy rides a bike, a girl kicks her soccer ball, a swimmer cuts through the water, and a skater pirouettes on ice. The effect is joyous, magical, mesmerizing, and taps into the the endless fascination that children find in watching other children. The second book created by Rufus Butler Seder, the inventor, artist, and filmmaker who developed Scanimation out of his obsession with antique optical toys and other pre-motion-picture illusions, Swing! uses “persistence of vision” and a patented state-of-the-art multiphase animation process to create astonishment. There is nothing else like this unique, patented technology that literally inspires wonder.
The images burst with activity, and adding greatly is a happy, rhyming text that captures in words the pure energy of the figures in motion. You can’t put it down.
Add this book to your collection: Swing!
Coming Soon:
Waddle!
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 12 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (October 1, 2009)
Publisher’s synopsis: It’s Waddle! And it’s in color. And boy, is it irresistible. In the same way that kids can’t read Gallop! without wanting to gallop around the room, Waddle!, an animals in-motion Scanimation book, will inspire prancing, hopping, stomping, and scampering. And did we mention color? Created by the optical genius behind the phenomenal #1 and #2 New York Times bestselling children’s books, Gallop! and Swing!, Waddle! adds touches of color to the images and integrates it into the text. That prancing pig is pink, the leaping dolphin is blue, the slithering snake yellow. The Scanimation itself is also more lifelike, as the author continues to refine his patented Scanimation process, resulting in a more fluid, realistic motion. Nothing else compares.
Waddle! teaches color and movement. Its language is a joy, the rhymes inspiring, the animals full of life. And one more thing: Waddle! has a surprise ending. Something else to grab the reade —literally.
Add this book to your collection: Waddle!
I found this link via 100 Scope Notes, and it shows how scanimation works: http://blogoscoped.com/files/stripes.html
Learn more about Rufus Butler Seder and the path he took to creating these must have books:
Have you read these scanimation books by Rufus Butler Seder? Are you excited about Waddle!? Tell us your thoughts by leaving us a comment below and then check out more awesome books on the Best Sellers list!
