THIS IS A NEW BROWSER WINDOW. Close when finished to return to the original page

Instructional
Development
Group

Below is an interactive illustration of the Wizard of Oz pop-up book created by Robert Sabuda. This QuickTime VR movie is used to illustrate a style of picture book in Rosemary Arca's online English 8 Children's Literature course and to add a little fun!

Note: if you do not see the VR image below, you will need to download the Apple QuickTime plug-in.

 

     
 
The Wizard of Oz
a pop-up book
by Robert Sabuda
 
 

 

 

I have always admired Robert Sabuda's remarkably intricate paper engineering and I own many of his books. My favorite, both for its imagination and its complexity is his Oz. He has graciously given us the virtual keys to the Emerald City. You can explore this creation by following the directions below.

Rosemary Arca
The image above is a QuickTime VR object. Interact with it using your mouse. Click and hold within the frame, then drag left or right, up and down. You can also use the Shift and Control keys to zoom in and out.

Copyright ©2000 by Robert Sabuda
Displayed by the permission of Dunham Literary, as agents for the author.

 

Robert Sabuda tells us about his creative process when designing OZ:

One of the greatest challenges in creating the Emerald City for my pop-up book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the fact that I had no visual reference to work from. In the original book the Emerald City is only vaguely seen from a great distance or in extreme close-up (just some walls with citizens hanging out the windows). So where to start?

I imagined what I would want the Emerald City to be like for me, a small boy growing up in rural Michigan. I decided that the buildings would be oddly shaped (I love unconventional architecture) and there would be soaring towers which citizens wouldn't be afraid to explore. And just entering this extraordinary realm (if you look closely) would be Dorothy and her friends.

Of course everyone in the Emerald City had to wear Emerald glasses so life would look rich and splendid (even though things were just plain white). But I always imagined that some of the citizens secretly knew that something was wrong in their fair city. So I decided to include a subtle warning in the flower bed for any unsuspecting visitors.

 

Robert Sabuda
June 2001