Flipbook Animation and Other Ways to Make Cartoons Move

Jean Free, a library consultant, is a retired public-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Flipbook Animation is an information book for junior-grade artists who
would like to learn animation techniques. Author-illustrator Jenkins
begins with simple tasks like making a fish swim and making characters
walk and progresses to showing a flower growing and skateboarding
stunts. Materials needed for children to try the special flipbook
effects suggested are pads of paper, pencils, and imagination. The last
chapter gives practical examples of early motion-picture devices such as
the thaumatrope, zoetrope, and praxinoscope. Several pages may be
photocopied for personal or group use.

Jenkins is an artist who has published five flipbooks and created
animated and experimental films. He conducts animation workshops in
schools and libraries and has illustrated Flipbook Animation in an
easy-to-follow, step-by-step way.

This book could be useful for older students in cinematography classes
and should provide hours of creative fun for younger cartoonists who
would like to create flipbooks for gifts or special projects.