Pop-ups and STEAM

I presented at the 2014 Movable Book Society Conference about how pop-ups can be used as part of a STEAM (science, math, engineering, arts and technology) curriculum. There's a lot of potential in pop-up art for inspiring students to solve difficult problems, deepen their understandings about complex math and science concepts, and create art they're proud of.  I got wonderful feedback from my fellow pop-up enthusiasts!

I'm always eager to talk about it with other educators and artists. Contact me at: beccazerkin@gmail.com.

Meggendorfer Prize 2014

Congratulations to Matthew Reinhart for winning the Meggendorfer prize, awarded by the Movable Book Society for the most outstanding paper engineered book of the past two years. It is outstanding indeed!

Watch the video for a high-adrenaline look at Matthew creating a Transformer pop-up! (It took slightly longer than this to create the prototype for Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe in the studio.)

Lucky find!

I had a nice surprise while shopping for my daughter's birthday party at Party House. I discovered a few cards I engineered for Up With Paper on display!

Matthew Reinhart on Studio 360

I'm a little behind the eight-ball in sharing this with you, but better late than never...

Studio 360 did this wonderful feature on Matthew Reinhart. Definitely worth a listen!

The Freedom Trail Pop-Up Book

Check out this exciting Kickstarter project from paper engineer Denise Price. I admire her tenacity in trying to get this wonderful book published! Go, Denise!

Kindergarten Workshop at Nightingale-Bamford School

I'm still floating from the two amazing mornings I spent with the kindergarten classes at the Nightingale-Bamford School last week. The girls were very proud of what they figured out how to do with box layers! 

Here we're looking at a student's work to talk about why some objects weren't popping up in her card. On the chart is a list of challenges the girls ran into and ideas the group had for trying to solve them. I loved being back in a classroom!

Bank Street Writer's Lab Pop-Up Workshop

It was a thrill to work with the accomplished writers, illustrators, teachers and librarians in attendance at the Bank Street College Writer's Lab Mini-Conference. What an honor to be included among my fellow presenters Richard Lewis, founder of the Touchstone Center for Children; author/illustrator Stephen Savage (Where's Walrus?); illustrator Yancey Labat (How Many Jelly Beans?); author Lela Nargi (The Honeybee Man); and author illustrator Roxie Munro (Busy Builders)! Here are some pics from my pop-up workshop. It was great to see everyone engaging with the challenge of making paper pop!

This Saturday: "Play and Imagination" at Bank Street College

I'm looking forward to presenting a workshop about pop-ups at a wonderful event on Saturday, April 12, hosted by the Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature. I encourage you to register if you're in the NYC area!

            

Join us on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at Bank Street College for our Writers Lab Mini-Conference. 

Play and Imagination – Schedule of Events

8:30 a.m.                         Arrive, register, get coffee

9:00-9:30 a.m.             Opening Keynote: Richard Lewis, founder and director of The Touchstone Center

9:30-10:05 a.m.           “Sparking Curiosity in Early Childhood,” a panel of creators of information books for early childhood

• Andrea Menotti and Yancey Labat (How Many Jelly Beans?)
• Lela Nargi (The Honeybee Man)
• Roxie Munro (Busy Builders)
• Mollie Welsh Kruger, moderator; Bank Street Graduate Faculty and co-chair of the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee

10:05-10:55 a.m.           Becca Zerkin, a member of Matt Reinhart’s pop-up studio, will introduce a hands-on pop-up project.

11:00-11:30 a.m.            Closing Keynote: Stephen Savage (Where’s Walrus?)

11:30-12:00 p.m.           Autographing session, with books for purchase in the lobby from the Bank Street Bookstore

The mini-conference fee is $50 plus processing. We hope to see you there!
REGISTER HERE

Incredible Games of Thrones pop-up book video!

I'm so proud to have worked on this book with Matthew. He really outdid himself this time! 

Get ready to be floored!

Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros 
by Matthew Reinhart, illustrated by Michael Komarck

And the awards go to...

The Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College is proud to announce our 2014 award winners. Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to these authors and illustrators for your wonderful contributions to children's literature!

Josette Frank Award for fiction

Rose Under Fire

by Elizabeth Wein

(Disney/Hyperion)

Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for nonfiction

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

(Belzer+Bray/HarperCollins)

Claudia Lewis Award for poetry






















What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings 
by Joyce Sidman 
illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Kubasta Exhibit Featured in the NYTimes

What an exciting moment this morning when I picked up the New York Times (yes, old-school print edition) and saw an enormous photo of a pop-up book on the front page of the Weekend Arts section! It's wonderful review by William Grimes of an exhibit of pop-ups by the Czech master Vojtech Kubasta from the collection of the curator,  Ellen K. Rubin (aka The Pop-Up Lady). Every self-respecting member of the Moveable Book Society knows Kubasta's significance in pop-up history and Ellen's passion for his work, and it's a thrill to see one of our own featured so prominently. I can't wait to see Kubasta's work up close at the Grolier Club! Congratulations, Ellen!

"How Columbus Discovered America," by Vojtech Kubasta from the collection of Ellen K Rubin

“Pop-Ups From Prague: A Centennial Celebration of the Graphic Artistry of Vojtech Kubasta” 
January 23- March 15
Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
grolierclub.org.

http://nyti.ms/Mz3sj6

Pop-Up Christmas Gift

Happy new year!

As 2013 came to a close, I designed, engineered and bound a very special custom pop-up book for a client. It was a wonderful collaboration that brought her poetry to life. We're both excited about the final result. Take a look!