POP UP BOOKS
Thelma Creighton was one of a number of people who
contacted ‘Focus on Scugog’ to tell us about her
unusual collection of Pop-Up-Books!

Thelma Creighton of Port Perry has collected over 100 ‘pop up books’ with
subjects ranging from animals, the Titanic, volcanoes and the human body.
She is seen above with some of the books in her amazing collection.

As a book collector and a book seller, imagine my delight when I was asked to do a story on Thelma Creighton, a local woman who collects pop-up-books. Yes, those delightful, colourful books of our childhood that, when opened, gave us a whole new dimension on story telling and using our imaginations.

Before we tell you about her collection you should know how she and her husband Bill ended up in Port Perry.

Thelma was born and educated in Owen Sound, before heading off to Humber College and the big city. Having been raised in a small town, it’s not surprising that when she and her husband decided to retire, they sought out a rural community.

They lived in the Stouffville/Musselman’s Lake area for many years, but a few years ago decided the area was changing too much for their liking. Port Perry seemed to fit all the small town criteria they were seeking, so they packed up and moved, settling here in 2007.
Thelma had a simple explanation why they chose this town. “We came here because we love Port Perry and its small town atmosphere,” she said.

Of course when the Creighton’s moved to town she brought her unique collection with her.
Thelma has been collecting pop-up-books for 20 years now and still shows a childlike wonder and enthusiasm every time she touches one of her approximately 140 books. What a collection she has; I had the good fortune to see as many as she could fit into her living room and I was at a total loss as to what to look at first.

She never had pop-up-books as a child and it was while working at the Toronto publishing house of Fitzhenry and Whiteside many years ago that her love for them began.
She was, and still is, knocked out by the visual wallop they have; she was immediately hooked by the detailed, rich illustrations and the fabulous and exotic subjects they brought to life.

Her first book purchase was “Little Choo-Choo’s Runaway Adventure” and it is a marvel of colour and imagination – it also has a track in the book that the little train runs along.
Needless to say, Thelma’s collection grew quickly. From the beginning, she shied away from stationary Pop-up-Books, which most of us are more familiar with, and devoted herself to searching out what she calls ‘mechanical books’. She favours these because the book contents do things – characters and objects move, turn, fly, flip, slide – the movement is total and incredibly intricate. These books tell more than a story.

One of her favourite’s is a National Geographic book called “Amazing Monkeys”. Upon opening, the pages come alive with monkeys swinging from vines and a whole forest in riotous colour – you can almost hear a cacophony of jungle voices and the movable tabs provide constant movement.

Thelma Creighton

In “Animals Showing Off”, there is a gorilla pounding his chest while firefly’s whiz about and crickets rub their legs together and make those famous cricket noises we know so well. These books are truly a marvel of engineering; it is the mechanism’s that hooked Thelma and has kept her constantly on the lookout for new and different books.

Thelma likes to play with her books more than she actually likes to read them. She will not however, let children play with them.

She first started buying them for children and has given many over the years to nephew’s and grandchildren, she feels they must be of an age to treat them carefully because they are fragile.

Children are fascinated by books that move and talk and Thelma has bought many over the years to share with them; she says they are a great teaching tool.
Between the ages of 12-13, Thelma gave her nephews the pop-up “Facts of Life” for Christmas (She got permission first from their parents). This book is explicit but correct, and shows everything from conception to the birth of a baby. Thelma said with a chuckle, “It’s kind of gross, I thought it might turn them off for awhile.”

I can’t think of many subjects missing from Thelma’s collection. Her books run the gamut from old fashioned Victorians, animals of all description, science, classics like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, Goblins, the Human Body, the Titanic, Elvis and the Beatles, straight through to today’s popular cultural figures like Tron, Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Return of the Jedi.

Any book Thelma considers purchasing has to appeal to her first. She does not buy based on anything other than what she likes and you can see her delight in each book she picks up and shows. They were not purchased on potential value or just to have; she sincerely is fascinated with them and plays for hours, no doubt lost in a magical world.

Now comes the reckoning – what does all this collecting cost? Evidently, not a whole lot. “I’m cheap. As much as I love them, I won’t spend much”, says Thelma.

You get the impression she loves the chase and the find, all for a bargain. Thelma is always on the lookout for them, at markets, yard sales, bargain shops and basically anywhere books are sold. She usually pays less than $10 and has never paid more than $25. For “spectacular” she would go to $30, but no more than that.

I am certain Thelma will continue to add to her collection; her enthusiasm for pop-up-books is delightful, contagious, and if I may say so, rather inspiring. I will never look at a stationary pop-up-books again without knowing there is so much more out there and I believe I’m going to start looking at books a lot more carefully.

Thank you Thelma for a colourful glimpse into a fascinating world.

By Marjorie Fleming
Focus on Scugog