Transformers: The Ultimate Pop Up Universe Hardcover – 3 Oct. 2013

Excellent popups, utter drivel for text. As a fan of 3D popup books, I knew I would get any new book designed by Matthew Reinhart. However, even as a kid I was never a fan of Transformers, as the whole concept robots from outers space all conveniently designed to turn into pedestrian vehicles from Earth felt completely ludicrous to me. I was also more of a Masters of the Universe / He-Man fan as a kid and the more recent movies by Michael Bay haven't helped matters either. Thus I was braced at best not to care for the accompanying texts - and not care I did. I started out reading the book to a child but soon enough we agreed that it was just not worth it. There is no coherent narrative and no storyline, just entries of sorts. It all feels like the texts are there just to fill some space on the paper which is not occupied by popups. On the other hand, the popups are just as excellent as you would expect from Reinhart. Also the art in the book is fantastic and in true comic book style. Five stars for the art and popups and one star for the texts amounts to an overall three stars from me.

I bought this for my 6 year old nephew and he was transfixed by it. He's a huge transformers fan and this book tells you all about the different autobots, decepticons and their world, with battles scenes and action shots. He's learning to read but this made him determined to read everything from cover to cover because it's bright, fantastically illustrated and wonderful to play with. I 'had' to play with the book a little bit before I handed it over though because the pull tabs were a bit stiff, but I didn't mind breaking them in for his little fingers. I was also expecting all the pop up parts to be small, but some are the height of an A4 page! I was a little worried the tabs would rip off on these larger popups because you have to give them some extra force to get them fully folded out, but the cardboard is thick enough for that not to happen. Overall, a fantastic book that will hopefully be treasured for years to come (with minimal rips and autobot casualties). I might buy a second copy for myself too because I can almost see this being a collectors item in years to come!

Wow.I am a huge fan of Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda's pop-up books, and if you haven't seen one of their books you really are missing a treat.This is one of my favourites (I have a large collection). The fact I was a childhood Transformers fan may have something to do with it, however the pop-up's themselves are breathtaking. The best thing, they actually transform. This really is a new concept and is really well executed here. In addition to the transformations the book also features possibly the tallest pop-up I've seen, with Ultra Magnus towering over the page.The best bit (for someone my age at least), these are the generation 1 transformers, and not the recent reboot designs. Similar enough I think that most of the Autobots/Decepticons should still be identifiable to the younger generation (though not all).If you like this book, check out anything by the two authors I mentioned above (they often collaborate). In particular a couple of my favourites are: Game of Thrones: A Pop-up Guide to Westeros or DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book (Dc Comics)

This was a great hit with my 5 year old grandson and an even bigger hit with his never-grown-out-of-transformers dad! Haven't seen it myself but i'm told the pop-ups actually transform in a most ingenious way. 'Incredibly Clever' was the verdict! I would imagine that, like most pop-up books, it needs careful handling so maybe better for slightly older child without supervision.

I bought this for my little boy for his 6th birthday and it absolutely amazing. I was a bit spectacle about how it would be for the price. Once I saw the quality of the pop up features I understand why it was the price it is.WELL WORTH THE PRICE.

I would have given this product 5 starts because the books themselves are fantastic, I brought them for my 24 year old other half and he loves them! However I paid extra for next day delivery as they were a present and they did not arrive on time, there was no reason as to why they were late or any refund on the extra i paid for delivery.

You love pop-up books or you don't. These books are just amazing and interesting too. Not just pop-ups but a good informative narrative to go with them. Obviously a lot of research goes in these books besides pure technique. These books are just amazing and quite robust too.

Fabulous artwork and pop ups. Little boy loves it. Really needs to be reserved as a book to be read with an adult as easily broken by little hands.Would be great to see this format with a more child friendly narrative though.