Common Sense Media Review
By Dawn Friedman , based on child development research. How do we rate?
Spooky pop-up isn't for the very young.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Monsters meet their match in a smart baby looking for his mommy.
Is It Any Good?
Maurice Sendak's work is such a good fit with Matthew Reinhart's paper engineering that you have to wonder what took the publishing world so long to turn one of Sendak's books into a pop-up. That said, it's difficult to know what the target age for MOMMY? really is. It's too scary for little ones, and for older kids it doesn't have the content interest of other recent pop-ups from Robert Sabuda and Reinhart. Perhaps it's best thought of as an illustrated curiosity for families interested in the artistry of picture books.
There's no dialogue. The baby enters a room and asks "Mommy?" and then an overfold page shows how he conquers the monster he meets. The pop-ups are impressive, bursting out of the page but folding back easily. One of the most clever pop-ups is the mummy who's spun undone.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about and spend time exploring the intensely detailed illustrations. There's a lot of hidden humor in the background. Older kids may want to talk about the book in the context of the author's other picture books. What common themes do they see (wily children, perilous and sometimes scary situations, etc.)?
Book Details
- Author: Maurice Sendak
- Illustrator: Maurice Sendak
- Genre: Picture Book
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
- Publication date: September 26, 2006
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 7
- Number of pages: 12
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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