10 Reviews: Best Pop-Up Books for Toddlers (Nov 2023)

Introducing children to the alphabet is not easy even though it looks trivial. If you want your little one to love reading, first of all, of course, you have to introduce the smallest elements, namely letters. David Carter’s Alpha Bugs: A Pop-up Alphabet accompanies each letter with attractive illustrations such as flower bugs, bubble bugs, and more. It has flaps, pull tabs, and different textures to train children’s motor skills.

Our grandson Jack loves the Bug series. We gave him this one for Christmas as he is just beginning preschool. He especially liked the powder puff bug, making each one of us touch the soft pink fur. Kids learn the sounds of the letters as they laugh over the silly bugs and most of them move or pop up. Great fun!

by MejiroBird

You don’t have to be a Harry Potter fan to fall in love with this book. Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts is another must-have from Matthew Reinhart. You will be taken along the Hogwarts castle to the Quidditch pitch and everything in between. With more than 30 amazing pops scattered in it, not only children, this book can be a perfect gift for fans of the wizarding world.

This book is amazing! Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan you can admire the design of this. I bought this to share in my classroom and all of my students and other teachers were in awe of it. I spread it out to show it in its entirety and left it on display for months. My students never got tired of looking at it and neither did I. They were also really impressed it also folded up into an easy to use book.

by vonB

Kelly Anderson really meant it when she released This Book Is a Planetarium. A wondrous pop-up masterpiece that summarizes the space into a book that you won’t get bored of opening. This enchanting book includes six functional pop-up paper contraptions such as a musical instrument, decoder ring, perpetual calendar, speaker, spiralgraph, and yes, a planetarium. You can put your phone under the planetarium and the light will be projecting constellations on the ceilings and walls. Wonderful!

This book is absolutely beautiful and each page turn is another world of wonder. It's perfect for little (and big) explorers, and illustrates the delightful engineering possibilities of pop-up books. And the planetarium page is fantastic - just turn off the lights and put your phone inside the pop-up page and the room is transformed into a planetarium. A great book!

by pokhalo

‘Puff, the Magic Dragon’ is the most lovable song of all time. Singing it brings back a warm and pleasant childhood memory. Peter Yarrow made it in a pop-up book to continue to pass this song down from generation to generation. Plus, you can sing along to this story and teach your little one a song that has never been able to get out of your head since you first heard it.

I sang this song to my kids every night at bedtime throughout their childhood and now I have bought this book for two of my children (so far) to share with their kids. My 2 year old granddaughter knows all the words and sings along with her mom. I love the illustrations and that I have this treasured gift to pass down memories to my kids and grandkids (my daughter cried happy tears when she saw the book)

by mummy5

No, this book will not make children have nightmares or fear sleeping alone. The ‘The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings’ actually teaches children to recognize their feelings, such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and calm. By introducing this to children from an early age, they will dare to open up about what they feel. This cute monster makes them fearless to face their conflicting emotions.

This book is amazing! I love the illustrations and the story itself. The pop-up items are adorable and it's just an overall really fun book to read with the kids while teaching them about their emotions. It's like a coffee table book for children because of the art. Just keep it away from the very little ones as some of the pop-up features are fragile. Other than that, it's a great book and I would recommend it as a great choice for any child's library.

by Charda

This is a jaw-dropping pop-up book. One Red Dot by David A. Carter is suitable for children of all ages, even perfect for display. Every detail is made just amazing. It contains 9 spreads in total, and kids are encouraged to find one red dot on every page which is sure to be fun and challenging for them. If you don’t believe in magic, this is the proof.

Really excellent pop up book. Not only is it gorgeous, but it has just the right amount of pop up intricacy, so I can see giving it to a 3 or 4 year old, perhaps with supervision at first, or showing the child how to do it. Or if the child can read it when shown how. Probably nest as book to read together, and I think children will one fascinated and engaged. The adults will enjoy the esthetics and children will be introduced to a beautiful graphic and design, even if they don't know it.

by Ilana Braun

Yummy! This is a mouth-watering book that you want to devour every page on. Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-up by Robert Sabuda features a realistic-looking dessert that makes children tempted to turn page after page with enthusiasm. Even though it is designed for children, each pop-up element is not created carelessly. There are things that twirl as you open them and even an entire pop-up house! Your kids will love it!

The pop-up art in here is phenomenal. I have never seen anything like it. There are things that twirl as you open them, and an entire pop-up house! It’s gorgeous. I’m afraid to give it to my kids because I don’t want them to damage it because I love it so much. Lol. There was one small piece of one of the pop-ups that was folded incorrectly and pulled out of its slot the first time I opened the page, but it’s so small my kids would never notice. Love it!

by jkrider01

If your little one is in awe of astronomical things, this book is for him. My Best Pop-up Space Book can be their first guide to the universe. There’s a button in the book that makes a blast-off sound; make children’s imagination more alive. Each page features stunning illustrations including shiny stars and a full-page gatefold of the solar system.

This is such a cute book. My 4 year old loves it, and it is appropriately educational. He learned quite a bit, without it being overwhelming or too abstract. He had me read it to him a few times, and now he enjoys reading it on his own. I'd say age range for this book would be 3-5 years.

by Miranda

Karen Katz’s Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? is the best choice if you want to introduce your sweetheart to body parts. The sturdy format and easy-to-lift flaps give kids the thrill of playing peek-a-boo. Its large flaps allow them easy for young kids to touch and lift up-and-down. You can read them this book as they search for Baby’s hands, eyes, feet, and much more. Suitable for children aged one to four years.

My toddler loves flap books. One of his first words and body parts he could identify was his belly button. This is such a cute and fun book. I even gifted it to a friend for her son. Great for development and different from a regular book. Also being a board book is critical for tiny hands that like to rip things apart. Speaking of ripping apart - know that eventually all the flaps will get pulled off by your curious child but totally worth it!

by KK

Nothing can beat the classics, especially in children’s literature. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’s story is still as amazing as the one you read as a child. It’s just that this time the fairyland is made more alive and can ‘jump’ in front of you when it opens. The rich 3D details are incredible. Your child will be amazed by the visuals presented in this book.

This is incredible! Absolutely beautiful.. Extended my expectations!! I have seriously never seen a more beautiful book! The detail is awesome and even the story itself is from the original Lewis Carroll version. Not only is each page a beautiful pop up.. But each page has mini fold out pages with more pop up artwork. This will be a keepsake for our family. SO glad I bought this and will look at buying others!

by Lindsey S