Pop-Up Sound Alikes

Pop-Up Sound Alikes
Random House ~ Grolier Books, 1973

Every so often, I run into a pop-up book from this series, and I find them to be such a hoot. Although they don't give props to an author or illustrator, they remind me of the type of art you might have seen on greeting cards in the 70's or those weird desk sculptures made out of white rubber weighted with sand (?) that were usually funny cartoons with some ironic but uplifting quote on the bottom. Do you remember what I'm talking about? I can picture them all now... in some attic collecting dust or sunk to the bottom of the ocean making a nice coral nest.

Anywho, I'm a sucker for pop-up, though my son usually breaks them within minutes of purchase. For the most part, I keep them out of his clutches. I learned my lesson on a gifted copy of Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs... let's just say that thing is... well... permanently "popped-up." I bought a small yellow bookshelf and put it in the boy's room for the sole purpose of housing the fabulous Birdscapes, just out of reach. Best Goodwill purchase I ever made.

Here, we find what is subtitled "A Hilarious Collection of Homonyms"... that is, words that sound the same or have the same spelling but mean something totally different. A perfect book for my son who hasn't quite figured out that "marry" is not the girl down the street with the pink tricycle and pretty blond curls.

Two shooters shoot at ducks of tin
To see how many dolls they'll win.
Now, at last, their shooting's through
And one won one and one won two!

Check the forward... too hilarious.

Did you know that trains from Portland, Maine are due at two-to-two and two-two, too? Have you ever wondered how much cold a bare bear can bear? Have you ever felt outraged because the fare to the fair wasn't fair? Then POP-UP SOUND-ALIKES is for you. Through delightful verses, combined with miraculous 3-D action illustrations that have made Random House Pop-Up books famous, this book will delight you and your children, and open their eyes for the first time to the wonderful but confusing world of homonyms. Warning: don't be surprised if you end up liking POP-UP SOUND-ALIKES as much or more than your kids. It happens all the time.

Now is that... you will love the book more than your children like it, or you will like the book more than your children, period? Ahhh, gotta love those 70s. I'm sooo gonna collect them all.