Call us biased, but we think the best presents come in book form. Since we’ve recently welcomed the newest little Workman-ites into our extended office family, that got us thinking about our favorite gifts for new parents. Here are just a few of our picks for the new mom, new dad, and mama-to-be:

• Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton – What could be better than a great big hug in book form? It’s the perfect love letter from parent to child.

• Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg – A sweet book with a powerful message: When you make a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!

• Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder – Every turn of the page brings a new animal to life: a horse in full gallop, a turtle swimming, an eagle soaring. It’s impossible not to flip the pages again and again!

• Indestructibles - Beautifully illustrated books that babies can really sink their teeth into! They’re waterproof, tear-proof–baby-proof!–and truly impossible to destroy. (Trust us, we’ve tried.)

• What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff – Why not get something for the new mama, too? This book has absolutely everything parents needs to know about their baby’s first year from one of the most trusted names in pregnancy.

We already knew Gallop! is one of the cutest—not to mention coolest—animal books we’ve ever seen. When the lifelike images dance across the page, you just can’t help but be amazed—and it’s so fun to gallop and soar and cock-a-doodle-doo! right along with them.

But we bet you didn’t know that roosters don’t always say cock-a-doodle-doo. No, in France they say cocoricôôôô! And in Spain they say—well, see for yourself! Below are some of our favorite pages from international editions of the Scanimation book we all know and love. Hoppe-di-hopp!

In German, a horse goes "hoppe-di-hopp!"

Can you swim like a French turtle? Bloup bloup bloup!

The Japanese chimpanzee swings through the jungle!

Roosters in Spain say "¡Qui-quiri-quí!"

And of course, in English…

Soar like an eagle! Whoosh-whoosh-glide!

Check out this fun video to see Scanimation in action. After all, a video’s worth a thousand words—in any language.

Happy Wednesday! Here’s the delightful Lillian, daughter of photo researcher and photographer extraordinaire Danielle Hark, reading up on some scanimation. She loves Gallop, says mom, citing the movement–of course!–but also the bright colors and thick pages.

Rufus Butler Seder, creator and author of Scanimation books, was recently interviewed on WBCL, a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based radio station.

Rufus talked about his amazing Lifetiles moving murals, the inspiration and innovation behind Scanimation, his newest toy, the Strobotop, and what’s next for Scanimation. Listen to the entire interview below!

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For more about Scanimation, visit ScanimationBooks.com.

I’ve always heard that kids absolutely love the animal noises and motion in Gallop!. I had no reason to doubt them–after all, I love Gallop and animal noises are pretty fun–but I don’t think I ever truly understood just how much interaction it can inspire until I saw this video of an enthusiastic reader galloping all over a bookstore!

Take a peek inside the New Haven studio of Rufus Butler Seder, author of the wonderful and amazing children’s books Gallop! and Swing!

Here he is at work on his Life Tiles, the life-sized medium on which the Scanimation process that animates Gallop and Swing was based.

The creation process is no less mysterious now, but infinitely cooler. (Or, rather, hotter!)

Published last fall, Gallop! introduced the amazing technology called Scanimation and took the children’s book world by storm. It became an instant bestseller—#1 on The New York Times children’s list.

Now Swing! does for kids what Gallop! does for animals—a boy rides a bike, a girl kicks her soccer ball, a swimmer cuts through the water, and a skater pirouettes on ice. The effect is joyous, magical, mesmerizing, and taps into the the endless fascination that children find in watching other children.