20 Amazing Pop Up Books (Your Kids Won’t Want to Put Down)
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Once kids can look at 3D pop up books without bending the paper art, introduce them to these best pop up books — that they won’t want to put down!
All kids and many of us big kids (adults) love three dimensional pop up picture books. The beautiful illustrations in three dimensions astonish us when we turn the pages, and the gorgeous illustration pops out!
Pop up book features include text, illustrations, and moveable paper elements engineered to move when the pages are opened up. Sometimes called paper engineering, get directions to make your own pop up book or buy The Elements of Pop-Up by David A. Carter and James Diaz which covers the history and how-tos of this art form.
The pop up books below are favorites that our family loves the most. I’ll be curious to know which will be your children’s favorites!
You’ll notice that Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda both dominate this list –both creators have contributed many, many books to this style of art.
Amazing Pop Up Books
A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes is written and illustrated by Matthew Reinhart.
Add three dimensions to your favorite Mother Goose nursery rhymes!
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The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings is written and illustrated by Anna Llenas.
Monster’s colors are all scribbly and mixed-up which means his emotions are, too. The little girl helps Monster separate his feelings on each page with fantastic pop-ups. I love the green calm page showing Monster in a hammock. The next-to-last page has fun pull-up tabs so kids can see inside each of the feelings jars. And the last page is the best surprise of all!
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One Spotted Giraffe A Counting Pop-Up Book is written and illustrated by Petr Horacek.
Who doesn’t love both a lift-the-flap and pop-up in one awesome counting book!?
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The Wide-Mouthed Frog is written by Keith Faulkner and illustrated by Jonathan Lambert.
This curious frog eats flies. He loves to ask other animals what they eat, too. But what will happen when he asks a creature who loves to eat frogs?
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Wild Animal An A to Zoo Pop Up is written and illustrated by Dan Green Kingfisher.
Don’t be scared by these wild animals who will pop up on each page! Kingfisher does a great job with pop-ups – I think your kids will love this fun alphabet book.
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How Many Bugs in a Box? is written and illustrated by David Carter.
Count the (adorable) bugs that pop out of the box! My kids wore this counting book out.
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LEGO Pop Up is written and illustrated by Matthew Reinhart.
Once again, Reinhart has created an impressive book that tells stories, shares comics and facts, and best of all, has incredible pop-ups, pull-tabs, and turning wheels. If you like pop up books and LEGO, you’re going to want to own this fun pop up book!
*Make your pop up book out of LEGOÂ with this kit!
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Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Diagon Alley and Beyond is written by Matthew Reinhart and illustrated by Kevin M. Wilson.
The coolness factor of this Harry Potter pop up book is beyond words –because it’s a complete sensory experience. Open the pages and Diagon Alley pops out in three dimensions. Lift flaps, pull levers, read the information, look at the nuanced details, and smell the fresh book smell. One of the most amazing pop up books on this list!
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Whose Habitat is That? is written and illustrated by Lucile Piketty.
Ready to peek inside 3D animal homes? Whether jungle or ice, you’ll learn where wild animals live. But first, you’ll have to read the clues, guess, then check if you’re right by lifting up the spiral pop up.
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Prehistoric Pets is written by Dr. Dean Lomax and illustrated by Mike Love.
Learn bout the prehistoric ancestors of modern-day pets in illustrations and text. For example, the modern pet of a cat’s ancestor was a smilodon, while the parakeet’s ancestor was a velociraptor. Lift the page to read about the ancestor, and you’ll see the creature pop off the page. A fun fact-filled pop-up choice!
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Chanukah Lights is written by Michael Rosen and Robert Sabuda.
This book is a work of art! Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe the sensations and feelings this paper art evokes in the reader. Chanukah’s Lights is about the history of the Jewish people as they search for a homeland and rebuild their communities, told through the lens of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. Read mixed reviews in The New York Times and a review from Yoeitzdrian!
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The Christmas Story is written by Robert Sabuda.
You won’t find a more beautiful Christmas book than this story with gorgeous white and gold pop-ups illustrating the story. It’s exquisite!! Each page is an incredible work of art! This book will be a new family favorite. (For older kids since little ones might not do so well with the delicate 3D art.)
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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is written by Lewis Carrol and adapted and illustrated by Robert Sabuda.
I gave this beautiful book to my daughter, an Alice in Wonderland fan. It is simply marvelous! The story is shortened and retold on small little booklets on each page and other places. Each page features a dazzling pop-up.
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Beauty and The Beast: A Pop-up Book of the Classic Fairy Tale is written and illustrated by Robert Sabuda.
Vibrant colorful illustrations that remind me of stained glass pop out of the pages (or lift under flaps) to retell this fairy tale. A fairy tale masterpiece of artwork by the pop-up book king.
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The Weather Pop-up Book is written and illustrated by Maike Biederstaedt.
Impressive weather pop-ups show a storm tossing a cargo boat in white-capped waves, a large tornado, rain coming down from clouds, cacti in a hot desert, and ice crystals that form snow. A paragraph of informational text describes each pop-up illustration and the back matter explains climate change.
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Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters is written and illustrated by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.
Open the page to find — yikes — more than 35 pop-ups of prehistoric beasts of the ocean — scorpions, squid, and sharks, to name a few. Filled with facts as well as incredible artwork.
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Gods & Heroes is written and illustrated by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda.
WOW– this is such a wealth of mythology information, as well as cool pop-ups. Open the page to reveal a large 3D illustration but don’t miss smaller lift-the-flaps with more info and illustrations. Absolutely incredible.
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What are your children’s favorite pop-up books?
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