Customer Reviews

Robert Crowther's Pop-Up House of Inventions: Hundreds of Fabulous Facts About Your Home

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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I have a highly developed scientific method in place that allows me to determine whether or not a children's picture book title is going to be popular or not. Here is what I do:

1. I leave the book on top of my desk at work.
2. I wait.
3. If the book remains untouched, unexamined, and unattended for a day then it may be fine and dandy but it doesn't have that instantaneous oomph. If, however, I find my co-workers and library clerks picking it up and cooing over it for long periods of time, THAT, my friend, is a book worth watching.

Option #3 was certainly the case the other day when I received a batch of books from Candlewick Press and I placed this book, Robert Crowther's Pop-Up House of Inventions on top of the pile. Within minutes everyone in the joint found it extraordinary. From its tiny hidden details to its fabulous fascinating facts, a novelty book this may be, but it's also going to win over a whole host of different kinds of readers. The only question left in my mind is where the heck we're going to catalog this thing.

Turn the book in your hands. Hold it so that the spine is at the top and that when you open it you reveal the first scene properly. Immediately you are plunged into a fully stocked and operating kitchen. Every object has a tiny fact attached to it explaining when it was invented or at least conjured up. Multiple tiny flaps reveal even more facts and surprises. Lift up the rug and not only will you see a wad of chewing gum stuck to the floor but you'll also learn when gum was invented and how it was first marketed as "Blibber-Blubber Bubble Gum". Opening each door and lifting each flap the reader makes their way through other rooms in the house. And even if you look under something or behind it, you're sure to see your curiosity rewarded with more facts, more secrets, and more objects. Finally, after walking through a living room, bathroom, bedroom, and garage, you come to a listing of "Some Inventions That Changed the Way We Live". Chronologically you can learn about inventions aiding in Food, Heat and Light, Plumbing, and Communication through each important historical era. Exhausting and intensive doesn't quite do it justice.

Generally the bane of every children's librarian's life is the pop-up book. If you have made the appropriate sacrifices to the picture book gods then maybe, just maybe, a pop-up book will circulate five times unscathed. Under normal circumstances, however, even the heartiest Maisy title will fall victim to the too strong jabs and pulls of the tiniest little tot. This Pop-Up House of Inventions could cut one of two ways. It may end up horribly mangled right from the start with its delicate little pullout DVD drawer, its tiny washing machine, and its multiple miniscule flaps. I like to believe, however, that the pop-ups found here are so small and the text so mature that it will only be of interest to children ages seven and up. That isn't to say that the occasional rug and cupboard door won't get accidentally ripped off from time to time, but maybe the older children will be so awed by the book's design that they'll treat it like the delicate little masterpiece it is. Or am I just dreaming at this point?

I will note that while Crowther may include a fact or two that people will find contention with (though I did not locate any personally), he's also not afraid to mention the most controversial claims from time to time. In the garage ("the word garage comes from the French garer, meaning `to park or to shelter'.") you will see a baseball glove and mitt sitting on top of a barbecue grill. Says the fact, "The invention of modern baseball is often attributed to Abner Doubleday in 1839, but many dispute the accuracy of this claim." Darn right they do. No other facts that I could locate contained such a caveat, but it's nice to think that Mr. Crowther was paying attention all the same.

Because this book has an original publication date of 2000 (it was previously distributed by Walker Books) I was a bit worried that all the facts found here would be out of date. Not so. Clearly the book has been updated to meet with changing times. So while you will find such rote info as "First kaleidoscope, 1817" you will also learn about the "First MP3 player, 1998". Or even more fascinating "Ed Sutt invented the hurricane and earthquake-resistant nail in 2006. It is thought to make houses twice as strong!" Clearly there are parts of this book that have been updated since the title's original publication. Even the backmatter of "Some Inventions That Changed the Way We Live" includes facts about heating and lighting as well as communication that are 21st century-based (they've invented self-cleaning windows now?).

Now my husband was not pleased that this book was so clearly too scale. He said that he wished that there was less blank space in it and that the words were larger. It's true that the words are tiny, where they appear. Not having a lot of space to work with, they often have to cram under workbenches, beneath magazines, or behind locked safes. This won't be a problem for sharp-eyed youth, but if they'd like an older person to aid them in some of the reading, it may well prove a challenge to older eyes. I was more disappointed in the lack of documentation. Not having any source notes leaves the reader with all kinds of questions. At one point you lift up a corner of wallpaper and find the fact "The earliest known wallpaper had a black and white floral design, 1509, U.K." A black and white floral design appears under this corner, but there's no way of knowing if it is the same pattern or not.

For all that it's fun. Fun fun fun, no doubt, debate, or question. Whether you're learning about how Thomas Crapper tested the modern cistern by flushing down apples or you're revealing the naked man in the shower (don't worry, he covers himself appropriately), this book's a joy to read. Kids who go through it multiple times will even find that there are multiple tiny mice hiding both under the flaps and in the regular illustrations on every single page (even in the backmatter!). I don't tend to keep a lot of the books I get for review, preferring instead to donate them to my library. But in this particular case the library's going to have to find its own darn copy. Because when it comes to the Pop-Up House of Inventions this book isn't leaving my sight. Highly recommended.

Have you ever wondered how long the teabag has been around, or the envelope, the toothbrush, the pencil or the pillow? Do you know who invented the venetian blinds, the jigsaw puzzle or blue jeans? Robert Crowther answers these and hundred of other questions, about where you live, in his amazing pop-up book of home inventions. Each room in this house is meticulously created with great attention to detail and full of fun facts and trivia. This book will keep your youngsters occupied for hours at a time, as they lift, open and examine the items of each room and learn about some of the many inventions that changed the way we live. Terrific for kids and adults of all ages, Robert Crowther's Amazing Pop-Up House of Inventions is a winner!

Fantastic book! I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I found all the bits and pieces to pop up, open, turn or otherwise manipulate. Some of the dates I didn't believe straight away so I went online to verify the info in the book. The book appears to be correct.

True, paper engineering continues to amaze but I venture to say that POP-UP HOUSE OF INVENTIONS published some ten years ago is still the hallmark by which others are judged and found wanting.

Crowther uses double pages to take us through rooms in a house from kitchen to living room to bathroom to bedroom to garage. Not only is each room presented fully furnished but it's filled with numerous fold-outs and pull tabs revealing what's in a cupboard, closet, under a rug or in the refrigerator. Plus this colorful visit to a home is filled with literally hundreds of facts which are found not only on pages but also under the tabs.

Beneath a calendar we find "Our modern calendar was produced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582." A logical spot for such information - however, many of the tabs reveal surprises. For instance under a rug we find "Chewing gum, made from the dried sap of the sapodilla tree, originated in Mexico."

The final two pages are devoted to "Some Inventions That Changed the Way We Live, " which traces discoveries from Neolithic times to the present day. Inventions are divided into four categories - Food Preserving and Cooking, Heating and Lighting, Plumbing, Toilets, and Baths, and Communication.

POP-UP HOUSE OF INVENTIONS is unique and fascinating, a book that both adults and youngsters will find themselves returning to again and again.

- Gail Cooke

This is a wonderful pop-up book, filled with lots of facts and details about inventions we all know and use. A treasure house of facts and fun.

This is a favorite with my sons, because there is so much to do and see inside.

I just gave this book to my mom....she spent hours with it! Children's books aren't just for kids anymore.

What a great pop-up! So why is this not being printed anymore? Or how about a second edition? Bought a used one via Amazon's marketplace as many of you have to do so at this time - so worth it having it in my collection.

This is an awesome pop up book. My 10 year old grandaughter was very
happy to read about why we have some of the things we have in our houses
and who and when they were invented. The adults present when I gave it to her were surprised at what THEY didn't know!

My kids loved this book, even though they could not read. They had great fun looking for all the hidden spiders on each page.