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The Movable Mother Goose
Robert Sabuda's The Movable Mother Goose puts a new spin on traditional nursery rhymes as they come alive in a glorious explosion of color!
This pop-up extravaganza by award winner Robert Sabuda is destined to become a new classic for all generations.
This pop-up extravaganza by award winner Robert Sabuda is destined to become a new classic for all generations.
12 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1999
54 people want to read
About the author
Robert Sabuda
118 books160 followersRobert Sabuda is internationally acclaimed for his stunning pop-up books, including America the Beautiful and The 12 Days of Christmas. He is also the illustrator of Chanukah Lights by Michael J. Rosen. Robert Sabuda lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 13, 2015
Title: The Movable Mother Goose
Author: Robert James Sabuda
Illustrator: Matthew Reinhart
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Creativity, imagination
Opening line/sentence: Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and can't tell where to find them
Brief Book Summary: The book features many different nursery rhymes that the author cleverly ties in with pop ups in the book. Each pop up has smaller flaps within for the reader to discover. Sabuda incorporates a pop up to match each of the rhymes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book Online Guide
Sabuda, Robert The Movable Mother Goose
14 pp. Little Simon 1999. ISBN 0-689-81192-6
(3) K-3 From a pink-ribboned Little Bo-peep, in the guise of a sheepdog, to the nimble grasshopper Jack jumping over a candlestick to a flock of Elvis-impersonating blackbirds bursting forth from a pie in song, Mother Goose rhymes spring to fresh life through Sabuda's impressive feats of paper engineering. The book isn't likely to hold up well under strenuous handling, but with its sly humor it will entertain and amuse both kids and adults.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: KIRKUS REVIEW
Sabuda’s interpretation of Mother Goose is a work of moving art, which necessitates that it also be treated like one. This isn’t a volume that will survive the wear and tear of many circulations; some of the paper parts have to be gently coaxed into position. However, the reward for handling with care is great; these feats of paper engineering not only illustrate nursery rhymes in three dimensions, but they also reinterpret them, e.g., “One, two,/Buckle my shoe” is reenvisioned as a woodpecker and a hen preparing for a night out. “Knock on the door” shows the earnest woodpecker tapping on the front entrance with his beak, while “Pick up sticks” shows the hen choosing her lipstick. Glorious colors and elaborate configurations of blackbirds bursting out of pies and peacocks fanning their feathers make this an exhibition of paper prowess that’s unforgettable. (Pop-up. 4-9)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: As both reviews noted, the downside to this book is that it needs to be handled very gently due to the pop ups. However, with great care, the book provides many different perspectives on the ways one can interpret each nursery rhyme. It's also an impressive work of art that will entertain and humor it's readers.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pop ups in this book provide readers with a spin on how they can view a nursery rhyme. Sabuda implements many different depictions of each rhyme (i.e. the Hen picking her lipstick when the rhyme read "pick up sticks"). Each pop up provides the reader with a different and humorous way to view the rhyme.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Although the book would be opportune for child play, it's simply too delicate to have children explore alone. Some alternatives however, would be to possibly read the book aloud to children during circle time and show them how the pop ups work. Perhaps the teacher could call students up one by one to demonstrate each pop up during the reading (after they have all been familiarized with the book and how the pop ups work).
Author: Robert James Sabuda
Illustrator: Matthew Reinhart
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Creativity, imagination
Opening line/sentence: Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and can't tell where to find them
Brief Book Summary: The book features many different nursery rhymes that the author cleverly ties in with pop ups in the book. Each pop up has smaller flaps within for the reader to discover. Sabuda incorporates a pop up to match each of the rhymes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book Online Guide
Sabuda, Robert The Movable Mother Goose
14 pp. Little Simon 1999. ISBN 0-689-81192-6
(3) K-3 From a pink-ribboned Little Bo-peep, in the guise of a sheepdog, to the nimble grasshopper Jack jumping over a candlestick to a flock of Elvis-impersonating blackbirds bursting forth from a pie in song, Mother Goose rhymes spring to fresh life through Sabuda's impressive feats of paper engineering. The book isn't likely to hold up well under strenuous handling, but with its sly humor it will entertain and amuse both kids and adults.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: KIRKUS REVIEW
Sabuda’s interpretation of Mother Goose is a work of moving art, which necessitates that it also be treated like one. This isn’t a volume that will survive the wear and tear of many circulations; some of the paper parts have to be gently coaxed into position. However, the reward for handling with care is great; these feats of paper engineering not only illustrate nursery rhymes in three dimensions, but they also reinterpret them, e.g., “One, two,/Buckle my shoe” is reenvisioned as a woodpecker and a hen preparing for a night out. “Knock on the door” shows the earnest woodpecker tapping on the front entrance with his beak, while “Pick up sticks” shows the hen choosing her lipstick. Glorious colors and elaborate configurations of blackbirds bursting out of pies and peacocks fanning their feathers make this an exhibition of paper prowess that’s unforgettable. (Pop-up. 4-9)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: As both reviews noted, the downside to this book is that it needs to be handled very gently due to the pop ups. However, with great care, the book provides many different perspectives on the ways one can interpret each nursery rhyme. It's also an impressive work of art that will entertain and humor it's readers.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pop ups in this book provide readers with a spin on how they can view a nursery rhyme. Sabuda implements many different depictions of each rhyme (i.e. the Hen picking her lipstick when the rhyme read "pick up sticks"). Each pop up provides the reader with a different and humorous way to view the rhyme.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Although the book would be opportune for child play, it's simply too delicate to have children explore alone. Some alternatives however, would be to possibly read the book aloud to children during circle time and show them how the pop ups work. Perhaps the teacher could call students up one by one to demonstrate each pop up during the reading (after they have all been familiarized with the book and how the pop ups work).
March 2, 2013
Sabuda, Robert, and Matthew Reinhart. The Movable Mother Goose. New York: Little Simon, 1999. Print. 12 p.
Sabuda uses animals to illustrate traditional nursery rhymes. Well known rhymes, such as “Hickory Dickory Dock” and “Jack and Jill” are explored in new ways with pop-ups, movable features, and bright colors. Less familiar rhymes are also featured, such as “Molly, my Sister”. Children will enjoy original paper designs with some occasional metallic embellishments. Very young children may too immature to handle the delicate paper pop-ups. The Movable Mother Goose is best used with adult supervision, or in the professional section at the library. Young children learning rhymes are encouraged to pick out the rhyming words in the nursery rhymes. Educators or librarians presenting the story will give children a word, such as “cat” and children are asked to think of rhyming words.
Read
February 26, 20171. There are no awards for this book.
2. This is a pop-up book appropriate for PreK and K.
3. This pop-up book is a compilation of numerous different rhymes like Jack and Jill and One Two. There was more than one on each page but they were separated by flaps of paper within the book. It ended with good night nursery rhymes.
4. I think the idea of nursery rhymes in a pop-up book is genius! The bright colors are amazing. As a college student, even I enjoyed reading these classic nursery rhymes because anything could pop out at me. The pop-up aspects could be a little distracting for young students but I still love the idea.
5. One activity could be to guess what the titles are of the classic nursery rhymes or as a class we could come up with our own titles.
2. This is a pop-up book appropriate for PreK and K.
3. This pop-up book is a compilation of numerous different rhymes like Jack and Jill and One Two. There was more than one on each page but they were separated by flaps of paper within the book. It ended with good night nursery rhymes.
4. I think the idea of nursery rhymes in a pop-up book is genius! The bright colors are amazing. As a college student, even I enjoyed reading these classic nursery rhymes because anything could pop out at me. The pop-up aspects could be a little distracting for young students but I still love the idea.
5. One activity could be to guess what the titles are of the classic nursery rhymes or as a class we could come up with our own titles.
May 29, 2007
Robert Sabuda is an outstanding artist/paper engineer. He goes way beyond your normal pop-up book in detail and beauty. I've skimmed through some of his other books, but The Movable Mother Goose has to be my favorite (and my daughter's).
June 28, 2009
Recommended for ages 4-8.
May 20, 2013
Fun reading it to Micah and having him recite most of the poems!
June 10, 2014
Beautiful, colorful pop=ups. Many well-known rhymes and some new ones too. Overall a delightful book.
June 16, 2017
Another outstanding pop-up book by this dynamite author. At least four nursery rhymes packed onto every page, illustrated by the most wonderfully complex pop-up constructions I've ever seen.
October 7, 2018
A very colorful way to read nursery rhymes to our little ones! Highly recommend for a night time story before bed!
February 16, 2024
This is a folding origami, lift-the-flaps book of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. The artwork is wonderful. It's not his best book, but there are some engineering marvels in here. The peacock and the 20 blackbirds' pie instantly come to mind.
Kids love seeing the paper move. Even as an adult, I love the whole art of it. It's quite amazing.
Oh, I forgot about the mice running up the clock. That was killer!
I hope your library has it. It's a marvel.
Kids love seeing the paper move. Even as an adult, I love the whole art of it. It's quite amazing.
Oh, I forgot about the mice running up the clock. That was killer!
I hope your library has it. It's a marvel.
March 9, 2024
Amazing and clever pop-up illustrations of Mother Goose rhymes. For kids and adults alike. For example take a look at the four and twenty blackbirds. They are a particular king that I expect most children won't get and adults will.
Read
October 5, 2018What a fun book! I absolutely love nursery rhymes. This book is definitely good for any age. These are so classic, that anyone can enjoy. It's even better that it has movable pictures.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews