Lego Pop-Up

Reinhart’s characteristically spectacular paper engineering serves as backdrop to a brisk tour of Lego history, as recounted by a minifigure expert, Professor von Brickhausen. Over five spreads, the narrative covers the bricks’ Danish origins; the advent and variety of minifigures; urban, medieval, and galactic worlds within the Lego universe; the popular Lego Ninjago line; and the creative potential of the bricks themselves. While the text can be baldly promotional (“When different Lego themes, minifigures, and elements come together, the possibilities are endless”), Reinhart’s interactive embellishments are as delightful as they are intricate and well executed. The opening spread features an impressive three-in-one pop-up that sees a Lego race car transform into an aircraft and then a dinosaur by pulling tabs, and readers can mix and match minifigure heads, torsos, and legs by turning three dials in a later spread. Lego devotees will be in heaven. Ages 7–10. (Sept.)