The Pop-Up Book of Phobias
by Gary Greenberg
Pop-up books are for children. They are colorful. They are delightful. When you open the page, something charming emerges — a giraffe, a castle, a friendly dinosaur.
Gary Greenberg took this format and asked: what if instead of a giraffe, it was a needle coming directly at your face?
The Pop-Up Book of Phobias applies the full pop-up engineering treatment to common fears: arachnophobia, acrophobia, trypanophobia, coulrophobia. Each spread features a technically accomplished three-dimensional rendering of the thing you are most afraid of, positioned to leap at you when you turn the page.
The clown spread is widely considered the highlight. Or the lowlight, depending on your relationship with clowns.
The book is technically for adults. It is occasionally given to children by adults who have misjudged the situation. The reviews contain several reports of this. The reviews also contain detailed descriptions of the specific spreads, which function as both warnings and recommendations depending on who is reading.