Mommy? ( a pop-up book) - Hardcover

Arthur Yorinks

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439880505 ISBN 13: 9780439880503

Publisher: Michael di Capua Books / Scholastic, 2006

Synopsis

Maurice Sendak's first pop-up book!

They're all here! Everybody's favorite monsters are just going about their business when a plucky little boy wanders into their cuckoo house. And what does he want? He wants Mommy!

No matter how scary these monsters are, there's no besting a little boy who's looking for his mommy. In one hilarious pop-up extravaganza after another, this kid shows them a thing or two.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew Reinhart is a renowned paper engineer and bona fide STARS WARS aficionado. He created the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling STAR WARS: A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY with Lucasfilm, published by Orchard Books. He also created DC SUPER HEROES: THE ULTIMATE POP-UP BOOK and MOMMY? by Maurice Sendak. He has worked with Robert Sabuda on many fantastic pop-up titles such as THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ; ABC DISNEY; the Encyclopedia Mythologica trilogy; and the Encyclopedia Prehistorica trilogy. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4–This pop-up tour de force abounds with humor, vibrant artwork, and visual fireworks. A sweet-faced tyke, attired in a sky-blue onesie and fuzzy hat, toddles into a creepy house. Unperturbed by his gruesome surroundings, he encounters one monster after another, calmly asking each, Mommy? Although the creatures try their best to scare him, the childs unwavering smile and mischievous actions quickly clarify whos in charge. The youngster corks a ghouls fang-filled mouth with a pacifier, removes the bolts from Frankensteins neck, unwraps a startled mummy, and pulls down a werewolfs pants before making his way to the welcoming arms of Frankensteins bride (Baby!). Masterfully illustrated in Sendaks familiar style and muted palette, the almost-wordless pages are chock-full of skeletons, mysterious lab equipment, and strange vessels brimming with unidentifiable contents. Amusing details include a framed baby picture of a dour-faced, diaper-clad Frankenstein and the werewolfs bright-yellow boxers. Each three-dimensional spread features an additional foldout pop-up, adding another element of surprise. The effects are delightful, as characters burst from hiding places with limbs flailing, heads move and eyes open and close, and the mummy–complete with shoelace bandages–spins around and around as the boy tugs a loose end. A fun, not-too-frightening romp thats loaded with child appeal.–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Starred Review. Children who get the better of monsters are a Sendak specialty, from Where the Wild Things Are to Brundibar. In this light bite of spine-tingling fare created by Sendak, Yorinks (Hey, Al) and Reinhart (Encyclopedia Prehistorica)—sort of a dark twist on Are You My Mother?—a mischievous boy addresses the title question to some unmaternal characters. Sendak's quintessential black-haired boy (with a strong resemblance to Mickey), wearing blue PJs and a red cap, wanders into a haunted house and naively calls, "Mommy?" Stylized, softened characters from Nosferatu and Lon Chaney creature features unfold in 3-D to menace the child, but the boy might as well be saying, "Trick or treat?", because he pulls pranks on everyone. A tall Frankenstein's monster gets ready to stomp on him; in a gatefold at the right-hand side of the spread, the disarming toddler jerks the bolts from the startled monster's neck. On a brick roof, the boy surprises a werewolf and a green goblin; the gatefold reveals the boy yanking down the Wolf Man's jeans to reveal silly boxer shorts, while the goblin giggles. In Reinhart's neatest engineering feat—a spinning dowel-and-string contraption—the not-so-harmless boy spins the white wrappings off an Egyptian "mummy." The title is the book's only word until the conclusion, when the Bride of Frankenstein at last replies to the child's question. Although the illustrious creators' do not appear until the back cover, readers cannot miss Sendak's signature graphic style. These gags are not too serious, but the suspenseful setups pointedly suggest humor's power over fear. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael di Capua Books / Scholastic
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0439880505
• ISBN 13: 9780439880503
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Maurice Sendak, Matthew Reinhart
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 12