Mommy? (review)

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?" While the horrors of the lab are many, the toddler remains unfazed, plugging up the vampire's fearsome mouth with his pacifier, undoing Frankenstein's monster with a simple neck-bolt removal, unraveling the mummy and pantsing the werewolf until finally he makes it to the loving arms of his mother, the bride of Frankenstein. The story itself is fairly elementary; the payoff is fairly dubious (it looks like the initial plan was for the tyke to punningly call "Mummy," which would have been more effective) and the kid-conquers-monsters plot derivative of Wild Things, while the cinematic references are a little over the head of the audience likely to find the brief excursion inviting. Sendak creates an enticingly spooky stage set for the toddler's toddling, though, and the paper engineering enhances its impact with touches such as little ghouls popping out of various containers (and the mummy spinning as his bandages unravel is a high point). The elaborate construction is, as usual, unlikely to withstand vigorous or repeated use, but this is a fairly ephemeral reading pleasure anyway; nonetheless, the amusing and elaborate spookiness will attract the attention of young horror fans.