If you don’t have kids of your own you may have missed some of the wild and whacky thing publishers have been doing to grab little kids attention. With the manufacturing of these specialty books having been sent offshore, these novelty kids books have come down in price. Here are a few recent interesting items that have crossed my path. Some of these still had stickers from major retailers on them indicating they were sold for a mere $3-$8 dollars.
These all are used books in these pictures, amazingly. These novelty books tend to be destroyed by children, so expect pristine books like this to go up in value over the years as toddlers destroy the rest of them.
Popups are pretty traditional, but with laser cutting now available, they’ve gotten really, really elaborate.
From the “The Encyclopedia Prehistoric: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters” by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.
Not only does this have a pop up, it’s a book within a book! The square on the upper right corner is actually a very small pamphlet style book attached to the main book with photo corners. You can pull it out and read it separately.
No author listed for this, which is very typical for board books. From Publishing International, Busy Bugs Jigsaw picture book.
It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but the right hand page is actually a puzzle. Each of the right hand pages in the book is a small puzzle.
Isn’t this adorable? It combines a plush critter with a book for bedtime. Unfortunately because the fur is glued to the outside, any publication data was covered with plush monster. Its cute… but I have no idea what company made it, when it was made, who wrote it, or who illustrated it. I don’t even know what the title is! Darn is it cute though…
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Don’t miss Nora’s excellent post on Books that Nobody Wants
My son had a few of these kinds of books and yep, they sure didn’t last long! Even though they’re cool for kids, they’re not made for kids for sure!
A book that is made for kids of all ages we just bought is called Archy the Flying Dolphin.
We were referred to this book from the librarian at our school – she mentioned that our son would probably really take a liking to it, and sure enough, he did. I thought, wow how did she know?
Nonetheless, it’s a great book. Definitely give it 2 thumbs UP!
I agree that the intricacy of popup books has become astonishing. This also makes them a bit more fragile though and none are likely to survive an enthusiastic young reader. Because of this though, notable popup books become more interesting to collect. Fine copies of first printings, especially if they can be signed by the artist, do well in the marketplace. Of course as alwise, the happiest and most successful collector will be the collector drawn to this genre because of the imaginative designs and titles that earn their interest.
These are amazing! My children had a few pop-up books, but even with gentle handling, they are fragile and tend to start falling apart if they are read over and over. Still, what a lovely way to encourage a child’s interest in books.
I just cam across this. I love what can be done with children’s books now – amazing! They are so much more elaborate. Do you think this can help to further their imagination, or mean that they don’t have to use it as much?
Thanks, Jane.