I love a good gimmick, even in a book, and Rufus Butler Seder's Scanimation picture book, Gallop! has one cool gimmick. Each page features a different animal that appears to move across a "screen" as the page opens and closes. I can't quite explain how it works--the official explanation is this: "Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the 'persistence of vision' principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement." Basically, it looks like the animals are running across the page. It's more like watching TV or looking at a computer screen than reading a traditional book, and it's pretty darn cool. Does my four-month old get it yet? No. But, he also is just beginning to recognize himself in the mirror. Here's hoping that in another 4 months, he'll be just as mesmerized as I am. Gallop! is $10.15 at Amazon.
