"Okay, what Disney book did you buy this time?"

That was my dear husband's reaction to the Amazon.com box that arrived last week.

Hi, I'm Pat (hi, Pat), and I´m addicted to Walt Disney World. And since my credit card has an alert on it that will notify my DH if I purchase a one-way ticket to Orlando, reading books on Disney is a sanity-saver between visits.

Since it seems that lately there have been more tests of my sanity than usual, the bookshelf is overflowing and I'm in danger of being cut off if I don´t prove there is a good reason for having all these books. These are not professional reviews, so no stars or ears or other ratings systems. Just more of a casual look at the titles in my collection. 
So, come along and check out what I've taken Off the Shelf for us to enjoy today!

Today´s Book: Popping Up Around Walt Disney World

Authors: Art and Paper Engineering by Tanya Roitman, Written by Jody Revenson.

Publication: Disney Editions, New York, NY. ©2004

Buy the book and read reviews on Amazon.com:

Okay, this one isn't exactly heavy-duty reading material. But it has a place on the shelf because of the "Oooooo factor." When you first open this book, Cinderella Castle in all it´s 3-dimensional beauty pops off the page, along with most of Main Street, U.S.A. and a host of Disney characters. Oooooo! Side flaps pop up Tomorrowland and Toontown on one side, Frontierland and Adventureland on the other. Turn the page and Spaceship Earth rises out of the book, backed by all of World Showcase. Hey, there's my favorite stop at the Fish & Chips stand! Oooooo! Hmm. Side flaps with Future World East and West would have been nice here, but alas they are not included. Disney-MGM Studios pops up the big hat, and the Tree of Life for Animal Kingdom, of course. The last page (yes, that's the whole book) is the rest of the World - resorts, water parks, all in one. The artwork is vivid and engaging, though there are some liberties taken with reality, some necessary for the compression of a whole park into one page, some just for artistic purposes I guess. The pages for MK, Epcot and AK are very well done, the Studios and the rest of the World seem to have gotten shortchanged a bit, as their pop-ups are significantly more simple than the others. The paper stock is fairly sturdy, but this isn't a book for little kids (as I remove it once again from my little son's hands).

There is some text in this visual feast of a book - trivia and history facts are around the perimeter of each page, along with some short paragraphs of "did you know" type things. Don't expect any big secrets to be revealed here, mostly things like how many pounds of popcorn are consumed each year and how many pairs of sunglasses get turned in to lost and found each day. Not much that hasn't been heard before on the Travel Channel. If you want trivia, buy Lou's books. But get this book for the art and the pure fun of it!

Have you read this book? Or do you have a suggestion for something I might want to add to my bookshelf? Discuss it in our Disney Books sub forums!

Pat is on the DisneyWorldTrivia.com staff, and you can read about her here.