HOHENFELS, Germany -- Pop-up book author Robert Crowther visited Hohenfels Elementary School, recently, spending a week here helping children craft their own pop-ups.
Meeting with each class for an hour, the British-born author discussed ideas, answered questions and showed students how to create simple pop-up pages.
Crowther has visited schools in Dubai, Sri Lanka and all across England. He said it is the feedback he receives from students that keeps it interesting.
"The simplest thing that you've done 100 times can be something they might not have seen, and they run with it," Crowther said. "If you look at the work being produced in the last three days -- it's amazing."
Crowther said that one of the HES fifth-graders took the pop-up house he showed them and expounded on it, creating a second floor inside the structure.
"I told told her it couldn't be done, and she went away and did it. It's pretty awesome, really. Subliminally, I'm probably storing that idea in my head for future use," he laughed.
As a regular presenter at Lakenheath Elementary School in England, Crowther became friends with Department of Defense Education Activity teacher Gwen Gamble. Gamble, now at Hohenfels, proposed the visit to the Parent-Teacher Association.
"Mr. Crowther's presentations were always child centered and would leave children not only excited about books but also excited about creating their own pop ups," Gamble said.
The HES PTA and the Hohenfels Community and Spouses Club funded Crowther's visit. Gamble said much of the money came from the Box Tops for Education program administered by the PTA.
"Hopefully this will encourage people to continue to cut and save box tops. Anyone in the community is welcome to contribute box tops. They can be dropped off at the school office," Gamble said. Each box top from participating manufacturers earns a school ten cents.
Crowther got his start in the late 1970's designing an alphabet book. Not confident in his artistic ability, he hit upon the idea of creating a pop-up book.
"I thought if I make it move, you'll be looking at the movement and you won't be saying 'that's a rubbish drawing,'" Crowther laughed.
Crowther taught himself through experimentation and by studying other pop-up books. He pays that experience forward with his book, "Deep down under," where the pages are all open and the mechanics behind the pop-ups are revealed.
"It's twice as much work for me, but it's fun for the kids. They respond really well to ideas," he said.
The different grade levels at HES created a variety of pop-ups based on their age and difficulty, but each group said they had fun crafting and coloring their own.
"I was very happy to do an actual pop-up instead of one that just slid back and forth," said 4th-grader Nate Gardner. "This was awesome!"
With more than forty books under his belt, Crowther still shares their enthusiasm.
"I do it for myself, in truth," he said. "I'm just a big kid at heart."
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