Welcome to the Neighborwood

by Shawn Sheehy, Shawn Sheehy (Illustrator)

Overview

In this stunning pop-up book, meet seven animal builders and see how their unique skills help them survive—and to live together in harmony in the neighborwood.

At the edge of the forest a spider spins her web, while nearby, a hummingbird uses strands of spider silk to build her nest. These are just two of the many animals who live side by side, sharing the resources they need to construct homes, traps, or places to store food. From award-winning artist Shawn Sheehy comes an up-close look at the architectural masterpieces of the animal world, featuring an array of beautiful, lifelike pop-ups originally crafted with handmade paper. The earthy exploration culminates in a breathtaking final spread showing all the neighborwood creatures together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763665944
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Pages:	18
Sales rank:	661,736
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shawn Sheehy is an artist with a love of ecology who enjoys exploring such themes as interconnectedness, adaptability, and evolution. Passionate about pop-up books, he works sculpturally with the book format and has presented numerous workshops on pop-up engineering across the country. He lives in Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/30/2015
Sheehy makes an impressive children’s book debut, using dramatically unfolding pop-ups to introduce seven woodland animals with special construction skills of their own. In gracefully orchestrated spreads featuring crisp, cut-paper artwork, the animals appear alongside the structures they make: a honeybee rests on the wall of her hive, its golden combs remarkably dimensional; a beaver presides over its watery habitat (“If he can’t find a pond to build in, he makes one!”); and a land snail’s shell grows as “calcium and proteins ooze from folds on his back.” Sheehy describes each animal’s behaviors using succinct yet vivid language, and a closing scene brings all seven animals together to emphasize the interdependence of their “neighborhood,” one that humans are part of, too. A visually striking and enriching overview of animals living independently and as part of an ecosystem. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This beautifully crafted pop-up introduces a spectrum of wildlife residing together in the same “neighborwood.” ... Sheehy carefully links one neighbor to the next until they are brought together in an impressive final display of their shared habitat. Readers will find lots to delight in and learn in this gorgeous book.
—Booklist (starred review)

Sheehy makes an impressive children’s book debut, using dramatically unfolding pop-ups to introduce seven woodland animals with special construction skills of their own.... A visually striking and enriching overview of animals living independently and as part of an ecosystem.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An auspicious debut, imparting a worthy message in playful language and harmonious, sophisticated paper design.
—Kirkus Reviews

The new standard for pop-up books is sky-high, and this ingenious introduction to woodland ecology is up to the challenge.
—News & Observer (from the Chicago Tribune)

Providing an intriguing peek inside an ecosystem, this book enchants even as it instructs.
—BookPage

If your children love learning about animals but don't dig them in glass cases, "Welcome to the Neighborwood" is for them.
—The Boston Globe

No question, if you love Pop Up books and the natural world—grab a copy of this book now. It’s sure to be a classic!
—ReadTheSpirit

A brilliant offering, “Welcome to the Neighborhood” will have kids (and adults, too) thinking about nature and how intricately involved animals and humans are with the balance of life.
—from Kendal Rautzhan

From the Publisher

2014-12-06
Seven big, multileveled pop-up versions of animal-built homes or other structures highlight nature's interconnectedness.Sheehy creates his illustrations using mostly sturdy earth-toned papers collaged with occasional bits of acetate or string. He opens with a flamed tiger snail's striped spiral shell, then follows up with other constructions that include a beaver's den and the nurseries of a potter wasp and a three-spined stickleback. In simply phrased accompanying notes, he identifies each animal, describes each structure's materials and techniques, then closes with a segue—noting, for example, that the nest of a ruby-throated hummingbird (that "Master of Craftsbirdship") is partly made of sticky silk "provided by her eight-legged neighbor…" the garden spider, whose "Loom of Doom" is featured on the next spread. The animal architects all gather for a closing 3-D group portrait over the observation that we too are "part of the neighborwood." An auspicious debut, imparting a worthy message in playful language and harmonious, sophisticated paper design. (Informational pop-up book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews