by Chuck Murphy
 
If only words could describe Chuck Murphy's Color Surprises as well as his gasp-inducing pop-ups manage to capture the essence of each color of the rainbow. Each page of this little wonder--one of the best, most artistic pop-up books we've ever seen--features a single, solid-colored square. With a quick pull or gentle push, however, one of nature's creatures slithers, flies, or bounces out of the square and (almost) off the page. Red is a gracefully unfolding starfish, and blue is a pleasantly popping parrot. We'd love to give the rest away, but half the pleasure of this fine book is in the discovery. A great gift for any adult on your list, but kids who like animals (meaning all kids) will love it, too.