Mommy?

When Maurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks, and Matthew Reinhart collaborate, what do you get?! One of the most uniquely humorous and slightly off picture books you may ever find. In this macabre rendition of “Are you my mommy?”, a young boy, reminiscent of Sendak’s boy in “Where the Wild Things Are”, searches room after room desperately calling out “Mommy”, only to be greeted by various monsters and ghouls. The illustrations are distinctively Sendak’s while the paper engineering can be non- other than Reinharts. The intricate pop-ups coupled with the gently frightful illustrations makes for a fun romp during the Halloween season, or anytime you’re in the mood for a scare! ***I just can't wait until a patron finds the topless show more woman on the "mummy" page! show less

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 show more 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.
Caldecott Medal Book show less

One of the cutest Pop-up books out there, not only is it beautifully illustrated by the renown Maurice Sendak, but the premise of a darling baby, unafraid, searching though a house of monsters? It's adorable. And even though you're pretty sure he's going to find Mommy somewhere, well that's a bit of a surprise too. My favorite pop-up? That's really hard to choose in this book, from baby pantsing the wolf-man to his popping a pacifier in Dracula's mouth, every spread is delightful! If I have to choose I would say it's the spread where baby unwraps the Mummy (awesome paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart).
This one is a winner~

I loved the ingenious way this book was put together. I loved the fact that the pictures just right out at you. It was especially interesting the way Sendak used only two words throughout the whole story. And yet the message behind the book was still conveyed.

The concept of this book is nice, the illustrations are good, and the paper engineering is amazing -- but even I had trouble manipulating the thing. It's too intricate to stand any but the most careful, spare use. That seems a shame for a book that is, in theory, intended for children.

This popup puts Sendak’s illustrations to the paper engineering of Matthew Reinhart, using only a one-word story as an adorable toddler toddles down into the evil cellar lair of a mad scientist, inquiringly calling, “Mommy?” (borrowed from a brilliant LibraryThing reviewer)

Fabulously engineered, a simple story. Lots of cool things for the adults to look at, too.