Book Review | Star Wars: The Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy

“In Star Wars: The Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy we have something that will astound and amaze the reader!”

Okay, I admit it. I’m just a big kid!

When I received this book, it made me smile and chuckle. I used to love pop-up books when I was a kid and couldn’t get enough of them. Somewhere in my attic, I have a pop-up version of ‘A New Hope‘ from 1977. The joy I had reading it, looking at the pop-up decorations and playing with the cardboard levers to make certain characters or ships move gave me hours of fun and joy. My brother learned the joy of these kinds of books as he grew old enough to appreciate them and we used to share them. So, of course, when this book arrived, it was a throwback to over forty years ago.

Star Wars: The Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy | by Matthew Reinhart and Kevin M. Wilson

The book has 24 pop-up pieces contained within and allows the reader to interact with each of them. Adding to the fun is the fact that the book eventually folds out to become a 37″ x 44″ diorama that will have you looking at and studying it for hours. With five spreads too, this is a total package. The front cover depicts various moments from Star Wars history. Colourful drawings of Obi-Wan VS Anakin from ‘Revenge Of The Sith‘, a half view of Kylo Ren’s mask, Rey with Lightsaber from ‘The Last Jedi‘, The Throne Room from ‘A New Hope‘ and First Order Walkers on the planet of Crait adorn the front cover. On the spine, we find Yoda and a depiction of Luke’s hands and Lightsaber from ‘Return Of The Jedi‘. The back cover encompasses Darth Maul, Luke from ‘A New Hope‘, half of Darth Vader’s helmet, Jabba’s Throne room from ‘Return Of The Jedi‘, The battle of Geonosis from ‘Attack Of The Clones‘ and Chewbacca aboard an AT-ST surrounded by Ewoks on Endor from ‘Return Of The Jedi‘. All are lovingly printed here. However, the back cover is removable to make the diorama.

As we open the book, we come across the main pop-up which depicts the Battle of Geonosis in the centre, the scene loving created as all the displays are throughout the book by Kevin M. Wilson with text by Matthew Reinhart. We also have four fold-out sections in each corner of the pages. The first containing The Sith Menace On Naboo, The Clones Of Kamino, The Clone Wars Rage and Coruscant: Capital Of The Empire. I will avoid telling you what is contained beneath these fold-outs as to not spoil the book for the reader. As we turn the page, we are met by the rise of the dreaded Death Star. Here again, we discover four fold-pot corners, this time containing A New Hope For Freedom, A Hero From Tatooine, Fastest Hunk Of Junk In The Galaxy and Escape To Yavin 4.

As we turn over again, we are rewarded with a large fold-out of the Imperial Bunker on Endor and the attack on it by the forces of the Rebellion. Accompanying the main pop-up, we again have four foldouts, this time containing Hidden On Hoth, Jedi Quest To Dagobah, Betrayal At Bespin and Return To Tatooine. We now turn over and are greeted by a fold-out of Jakku and Rey’s home. Here we can play with the fold-out levers and fly the Millenium Falcon while we have three fold-outs to look at containing, Pirates Of Takodana, D’Quar, Home Of The Resistance and Tragedy And Triumph At Starkiller Base.

We now come to the final section of the book. Here we are met by the First Order Walkers on Crait. Again, cardboard levers allow us to move the scene including seeing Kylo Ren ‘Stike down’ Luke Skywalker. Our four fold-outs here are The Search For The Last Jedi, The Casinos Of Canto Bight, Last Stand On Crait and Final Clash Between The Dark And The Light. Our time with the fold-outs contained within has now come to an end. But the fun isn’t over yet. Throughout the book, we find black tabs between every section. By unhooking these while the book lies on a flat surface, we now open ALL the sections together to give us a completely amazing diorama. Every section is now displayed and all are connected and by opening the fold-out corners, we have something that will astound and amaze the reader, giving big kids like me hours of fun.

Final Thoughts:

Matthew Reinhart’s text that accompanies the pop-ups fit the book to a tee. It’s almost like telling a story with visuals to help along the way to get every point across to the reader. The book is a joy to hold and to fold out and look at in its entirety. Hours of fun can be had by children and adults alike. I can honestly see parents sitting down with young children and having a wonderful and fulfilling storytime together with this tome. And that’s another string to the books’ bow. It can bring families together and spend some time enjoying each others company as they tell and show a story that will entertain the children and give the parents joy in making them smile and laugh along for a little while. In that respect, the book is a perfect excuse for Dad to buy it and to tell mum what he’s going to do with it! And that in itself is worthy of a purchase.

Star Wars: The Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy by Matthew Reinhart and Kevin M. Wilson is published by Insight Editions and is available to buy NOW!

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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Indiana Jones and Horror movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!

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Editors Note: A big thank you to our friends at Insight Editions for the advance review copy.