The Art of the Brick

120

waldo h. hunt

PoP-uP-book

There is something fascinating about the obituaries

page. It’s amazing to hear the life stories of remarkable

people who somehow passed your notice while still

living—people like Waldo H. Hunt, the “King of the

Pop-Up Book.”

I read about Mr. Hunt in the Los Angeles Times in

late 2009. A former advertising man, he devoted the

second half of his life to reviving the American pop-up

book genre. He revolutionized the way pop-up books

were written and produced. If you have a pop-up book

at home today, you have Waldo H. Hunt to thank for it.

As a grown man making his living with art made out

of a toy, I found something of a kindred spirit in the

pages of that newspaper. So I decided to make a pop-

up book of my own in tribute to Mr. Hunt, inscribed

with a poem I’d written a few years before.

I knew I’d found the magic key.

—Waldo H. Hunt, on pop-up books

121

This is a poem

About a girl in a boat,

Who kept sailing around

The confines of a moat.

The moat went around

A very big palace

Inside lived a prince,

And his maid Alice.

The prince had no problems.

His life was pure pleasure.

But his love for that girl,

He could not measure.

And the girl loved him back.

Their love had been bound.

But she still sailed on her boat.

Around and around.

She didn’t dare stop

For around the moat’s edge

Were sharp jagged rocks

Where her boat could not wedge.

The prince watched her each day,

And watched her each night.

They’d talk all the time.

But it just wasn’t right.

He begged her to jump.

And leave the boat far below.

But she kept sailing around,

Not ready to go.

“I’ll catch you,” he promised.

“There will be no harm.”

And she wanted to go

And live in his arms.

But the boat seemed so safe.

And the jump seemed so big.

She could not just leave,

And abandon her rig.

“Finally,” the prince said,

As he jumped on her boat.

“If you won’t come to me,

Then I’ll sail on the moat!”

And they sailed on her boat,

Just watching the palace.

But they could not go back,

‘Cuz it was now owned by Alice.

The moral of the story,

If you must know:

If you stay where you are,

Then you may never go.

So if one would jump,

And prepare for the hassle,

One day they will find,

They can live in the castle.