Flip the Book, Not the Story

 by Sue Heavenrich

A few years ago on this blog, I wrote about “book turns” – incorporating images that require a reader to turn the book as they engage with the story. I hadn’t thought about it much until last week, when I happened upon a copy of Ursula Upside Down, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor (Greenwillow Books, May 2024). The cover art clues you in that this will be an interactive reading!

 Ursula is a happy catfish, contentedly swimming through her world. A world in which “river weeds waved from above” and “rays of sun shimmered from below.” The watery greens and blues of the illustrations are delightful. 

The language is delicious, especially the “scrumptious buggy buffets” – and the reaction of some bug buddies when one of their comrades suddenly disappears.

The real fun comes when Ursula’s view of the world is flipped upside down. 

Now the reader has to flip the book 180 degrees and turn the pages in what feels a backward direction. Like Ursula, we might be questioning is left right? Is right wrong? And which way is up? There is a rescue, another book turn, and a satisfying ending. There is also an author’s note, in which Corey Tabor explains that there really is an upside-down species of catfish that live in the Congo River basin … or are we the ones who are upside down?

This isn’t the first flip-it-around book Corey’s created. Back in 2021 his book, Mel Fell (a Caldecott Honor book) hit the shelves. If you haven’t read it, it’s a story of a young bird learning to fly. This book opens vertically which, for me, makes it hard to hold on my lap and read. But what great fun for a kid – because now pages flip up instead of right-to-left. At one point, Mel falls down, down, down into the water. Now the reader has to turn the book 180-degrees so she can fly up, up, up and back to the nest. Here’s a short 1-minute video that shows the book turn.

Want to know more about what inspires Corey’s writing and art? Check out these interviews with Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and the Brightly Editors.

Have you read any fun books that incorporate turning the book or otherwise interacting with it? Please share them in the comments!