You won't need a dictionary to enjoy this beautiful compendium of paper creches. The clear, colorful, photos tell the story. This lovely presentation rivals a museum catalog of a major exhibition. But, unlike a visit to a museum, you can't take the exhibits home with you. And, for your personal collection, with the magic wand of Photoshop you can literally lift these creches off the page — and bring them back to the world of three dimensions.. Someone, please, give me the authors' address. I'd very much like to send them some baklavá next Christmas.		Don't read Italian? Don't worry; these pictures really are worth a thousand words—in any language! The books' cover "Alpine Creche" in a closer view. This beautiful creche is a great example of an inventive publisher using different manger fronts with the same figures—a look at our Creche Gallery will show you these figures being used in at least three other creches in my collection. (They're used in two other creches in Santi Auguri!).     Presepi di carta, santini, calendarietti devozionali per augurare le buone feste (secoli XIX e XX Editioni Essegi, hardbound, 144 p., in Italian "Mangers of paper, saints, devotional calendars, in order to augur the good feast (19-20 centuries). Now, take a deep breath. And say a great big "Thank You" to E. Gulli Grigioni and V. Pranzini for giving us this wonderful resource. Of course, you'll want to read every word, maybe run out and buy an Italian dictionary, as I did. But you won't really need it. It's amazing how much I manage to actually follow thanks to those professors that drilled me in Latin. (The Greek I already had.) But you'll amazed how quickly you catch on, even if you lack the "amo, amas, amat" experience. See if you can follow this description of the cover manger: "Riproduzione della capanna in stile alpino... La parte destra é decorata con due pini, mentre la sinistra con un arbusto inserito fra grandi massi; in alto, in una specie di campanile, una grande campan, di chiaro significato augurale. Al centro una vasta apprtura che lascia intravedere la scena della Nativitá, sulla parte sinistra la figurina di un pastorello in ginochio..." Translation: " Reproduction of the manger in Alpine style... The right side is decorated with two pines, while the left with a shrub between two great rocks; Above there's a bell tower and a bell,clearly an auspicious sign. In the center a large opening allows you to catch a glimpse of the scene of the Nativity, with the small figure of a kneeling shepherd on the left of the opening... " OK, I won't be tackling Dante anytime soon, but you get the idea. Believe me you can do it ,too. No? Well, then there's AltaVista Translations, a wonderful resource I've just discovered and wish I could have done so lot sooner. But I've digressed. You'll love this book, even if you can't understand a word. Page after colorful page beautiful folding, creches, pop-up creche scenes, folding Christmas cards. And even an actual creche scene sheet in color in "Oriental Style." I supposed a column borrowed from the Temple of Karnak is responsible for the oriental flavor, but you'll love all the beautifully executed figures — over 25 of them — in soft, muted, but vibrant color. This is the book that started me down the slippery slope of Crechemania madness. I thought, here's a creche sheet, just like the ones my father used to get me at Christmas in Greece..." And the rest, as they is history… E. Gulli Grigioni and V. Pranzini, I owe you two big plates of mousaká. >> Available from Pollocks ToyShop