Gallop! A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder ★ ★ ★ 3/5

This is a nifty little book worth having if only for the sparkle of interest it adds to a bookshelf. Each page is a “scanimation” of a different animal, depicting with biological accuracy the movements they make. A question accompanies each folio, e.g. “Can you flutter like a butterfly?”

Reminiscent of its primitive cousin, the flip book, Gallop! provides a glimpse into how animation works. Filmmaker parents will want their kid to have this book. In the final analysis, this book is fun to look through now and then, but it’s more a clever device than it is a story and won’t make it into your crucial bedtime story repertoire. Printed by Workman Publishing 2007, retails for $14.95 CAN. 12 pages.