Long before there was Planet Pop Pop or Marvy Mashups, there was a family sitting around a table, talking, laughing and joyfully celebrating the news of future grandbabies to come.
Then the conversation took a goofy turn. A spark of silly humor became a brainstorm: what happens when you mash a food with an animal? Deborah and Rachel, both artists, grabbed paper and pen and started sketching, giggling the whole way through. It turned into a game: who could come up with the next funny mashup?
And so the Mashups began to take shape.
Every idea sparked a sillier one, and soon we were all cracking up. Some were funny. Some were ridiculous. And some were probably better left at the dinner table.
“What if these crazy combinations could actually help kids learn?”
The drawings were put away. One grandchild became two. Then three. Then four…
As those grandchildren grew, fell in love with books and started learning their own ABCs, Denny found himself thinking again about those funny drawings tucked away years before.
Maybe there really was something there?
So he dusted off the original idea and began imagining what it could become—not just a few pages of silly word combinations and drawings but an entire world of characters designed to make kids laugh, wonder, join in and learn.
Those early sketches grew into Marvy Mashups: whimsical characters that combine familiar things in completely unexpected ways.
Planet Pop Pop was born to give kids a place to learn, play, explore and go on adventures with the Mashups.
Denny didn't have the original idea or draw the sketches, but when retirement came, he needed a new project. After years in music, software and business, bringing other people's ideas to life is what he does best. So he pulled those family drawings back out and turned them into real books, games and songs. Retirement has never been so silly.
Deborah is honored to be a Nana of such a lively bunch; each child teaches her in surprising ways more than she could ever teach them! Her playful imagination helped spark the original Mashups, and she hopes the books encourage children everywhere to love learning new things while inspiring them to dream outside the box and foster their own unique and astonishing imaginations.
Rachel is an artist and author whose creativity helped start the whole thing. Inspired by the natural world, her work blends botanical and biomorphic forms with imagination and play. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally, and she's the author of nine published coloring and art-instruction books. Now a mother of two, she keeps finding inspiration in creativity, nature and seeing the world through a child's eyes. Visit rachelreinert.com
Planet Pop Pop is a world where curiosity gets rewarded, imagination runs wild, and learning feels like play.
A giggle makes a letter stick. Silly enough for a three‑year‑old, clever enough to make a grown‑up smile.
We encourage kids to think beyond the expected, use their imaginations, and discover that the most unexpected ideas can lead to creativity, learning, and fun.
Hunts and counting games give kids and grown‑ups something to do side by side.
What began with a few pages of silly word combinations and drawings has grown into books, characters, stories, songs, games and adventures, with plenty more Mashups waiting to be discovered.
