The first time we ever saw a pop-up book was when we were sleeping over at Louis’ house. He had all the coolest toys, board games and video games, and this new kind of book was just the icing on the cake. Clearly, Louis was ahead of the curve and this three-dimensional book thing would soon make all flat, text-based reading material obsolete. Evidently those predictions never came to pass, but we still swear by the essential coolness of pop-up books, hence this listicle of 16 Poppy Pop-Up Books.

Pop-Up Monsters

Destroying the paper city one page at a time.

Pop-Up Sea Monsters

Monsters of the deep leaping off the page.

Pop-Up Scarface

We hope the mountain of coke he snorts shortly before this scene also pops up.

Hallucinogenic Pop-Up by Paul Johnson

Looks something like an oil rig with a cathedral on top.

Another Pop-Up by Paul Johnson

Some kind of sail boat?

Pop-Up Neiman Marcus Book

We had an outfit made of paper once. It didn’t look quite as good.

Pop-Up Male Models

These fellas make us pop up every time.

Pop-Up Lights

We don’t understand how these work, but they are amazing.

Pop-Up Haunted House

On moonless nights it pops up by itself.

Pop-Up Halloween at the Zoo

Sadly does not include pop-up candy.

Giant Pop-Up Fireworks

Best fireworks display we’ve seen in a while.

Pop-Up Coney Island

Pops more than the real thing.

Pop-Up Cinderella

Kind of amazing. Presumably it really rolls too.

Pop-Up Alien

Total genius (and, sadly, not real).

Pop-Up Alice in Wonderland

We wonder what the rabbit hole looks like. Does it pop down?

Pop-Up Stained Glass Windows

Like having a gothic cathedral on your bookshelf.