{"id":46972,"date":"2026-09-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=46972"},"modified":"2026-09-25T07:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:17:09","slug":"encyclopedia-prehistorica-minecraft-blockopedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/encyclopedia-prehistorica-minecraft-blockopedia\/","title":{"rendered":"Encyclopedia Prehistorica \/ Minecraft: Blockopedia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SHARKS AND DINOSAURS \u2013 POP-UP BOOKS ON STEROIDS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters<\/em>
by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Candlewick
2006, 12 pages, 7.8 x 9.9 x 2.1 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs<\/em>
by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Candlewick
2005, 12 pages, 8 x 10 x 2.5 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are only five \u201cpages\u201d in each of these books despite their 3-inch thickness. That is because each page is stuffed with layers and layers of ingenious interacting bits of printed paper, which magically assemble themselves into an alternate reality when each page is opened. Yes, it is a pop-up book, but a pop-up raised to an exponential level. A pop-up on steroids, or acid. Pop-up as extreme sport. The engineering is astounding. As a page is opened a 3D apparition appears, often with its own narrative, first one part and then another. The resulting paper sculpture is the story made real. The textual story is minimal; all the action is in the structures. Kids love to see how they work. The only downside to these books that belong on paper is not letting children paws tear the mechanics. These two books feature all kinds of pre-historic dinosaurs, and sharks of all types. But the artist behind them, Robert Sabuda, has half a dozen other books with the same kind of extreme pop-up-ness. \u2013 Kevin Kelly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MINECRAFT: BLOCKOPEDIA \u2013 FOR FULL-ON MINECRAFT GEEKS, AS WELL AS OVER-THE-SHOULDER ADMIRERS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Minecraft: Blockopedia<\/em>
by Alex Wiltshire
Scholastic Inc.
2015, 312 pages, 9.7 x 10.7 x 1.4 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaped like a hexagon to mimic the dimensions of a cube, Minecraft: Blockopedia<\/em> is designed for full-on Minecraft geeks, although those of us who have only watched the game over the shoulders of children and loved ones will find plenty to admire here too. After the briefest of introductions and a quick glossary to help noobs make sense of the stats that accompany each block\u2019s name, it\u2019s off to the races, with page after page devoted to blocks made from rocks, blocks made from plants, blocks that serve particular functions (a ladder), and blocks that do particular things (acting as a switch).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the coolest characteristics about Minecraft is how it chooses to observe the laws of nature and physics, or ignore them. Sand, we are told, can be a cave-in hazard, but when it\u2019s smelted in a furnace, it turns to glass. Both statements are true, but don\u2019t go looking for glowstone the next time you\u2019re spelunking \u2013 it is only found in a sinister dimension of Minecraft called the Nether. And while sugar cane in both the real world and the Overworld of Minecraft can be used to make sugar, guess where it can also be used to block flowing lava?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the format and illustrations in Minecraft: Blockopedia<\/em> are the book\u2019s most prominent features, it\u2019s still a book filled with lots and lots of, you know, words. Writer Alex Wiltshire mostly plays it straight (\u201cWater is incredibly useful.\u201d), but often he lets the language and logic of Minecraft add color, as in \u201cSticky pistons are made by crafting a piston with a slimeball\u2026\u201d and \u201cIf you dig podzol without the silk touch enhancement it drops dirt.\u201d Got that? \u2013 Ben Marks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Books That Belong On Paper<\/strong>\u00a0first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair.<\/em>\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get the issues a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue No. 137<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[31],"tags":[2398],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46972"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46998,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46972\/revisions\/46998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}