Maurice Sendak was back on NPR this week to talk about his new book Mommy, the first pop-up book in his illustrious career. Apparently, the only word used until the ending is "Mommy", as a little boy wanders through a haunted house looking for, well, you get it.
I like pop-up books, and I'm really excited to see this one, but I no longer buy them for our school. The only way to make them last more than 2 weeks is if we say that only the teachers can handle them, and that's a bummer. One alternative to pop-ups (which can capture the attention of even the youngest kids) are the "slide 'n seek" series of books by Chuck Murphy: Colors, Shapes, Counting, and Opposites. There is a lot for children to touch and pull and discover, but they are very sturdy and won't fall apart. Great for under 5s.
Mr. Sendak made an interesting observation at the end of the interview about pop-ups when asked if he was worried about kids destroying his book. He said (paraphrasing) that he doesn't mind because it will be destroyed out of pleasure and the publishers will be happy because if the parents really enjoyed the book they'll go out and buy another copy. Now I get it...come to think of it we've replaced a number of "Where's Spot" books (lift the flap).
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