ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book

by Alison Jay, Alison Jay (Illustrator)

Overview

B is for boy . . . but in Alison Jay's ABC, B also stands for basket, beehive,and butterfly. Featuring a simple format and bright paintings, this acclaimed alphabet book is perfect for toddlers. Older readers are encouraged to look and look again as each spread reveals a new perspective on what has come before and intriguing hints of what's still to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525475248
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/02/2005
Edition description:	BOARD
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.28(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

ALISON JAY is a graduate of the London College of Printing and is the acclaimed illustrator of many picture books, including The Cloud Spinner, written by Michael Catchpool, and A Gift for Mama, by Linda Ravin Lodding. Alison’s signature style is created using alkyd paint on thick cartridge paper, with a crackle varnish, giving an aged effect.

Editorial Reviews

Fans of Jay's Picture This... will recognize a few familiar encore performances and appreciate her deceptively simple approach to this visual alphabet book. Once again, Jay previews an element in each painting that will appear in the next, and her porcelain-like, finely etched lines suggest an antique canvas. The minimal text cites one item per letter (next to a capital and lower case "Aa" appear the words "a is for apple"), and most illustrations include other objects that begin with the same letter (the candy-red airplane from Picture This..., an ant), as well as an item beginning with the next (a balloon appears in the upper right-hand corner of the "Aa" illustration, to be featured in the "Bb" painting on the next page; cows graze in the lower left-hand picture of the "Bb" painting before one takes center stage for the next scene, as it jumps over a crescent moon). Animal images abound, most rendered in a primitive style that tweaks traditional proportion. In several instances, Jay frames her images inventively: a picture of an equestrian accompanying the phrase "h is for horse" is nestled inside of a horseshoe (the rider holds an ice cream cone, to be featured in the next illustration); and for "Kk," readers look through a "keyhole" to view the equestrian's bedroom, her cap on her bureau, a koala atop her dresser, a kangaroo on a chair). This volume will likely offer as much to folk art aficionados as to children in the targeted audience. Ages 1-4. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2-An inventive and beautifully illustrated book. Each page features a scene highlighting one object (apple, balloon, cow, etc.), the corresponding upper- and lowercase letter, and a simple declarative sentence ("a is for apple"). Most of the items will be familiar to young listeners. Each featured object is surrounded by several smaller things that begin with the same letter, as well as a tiny image of the key item on the following page. Thus, young readers can play "I Spy" and reinforce their understanding of the letter and its sound. The pictures add another dimension, telling an underlying story, as a woman bids farewell to a man who embarks on a journey that leads him to exotic settings where he encounters many of the featured objects. This element of fantasy is sure to provide smiles of recognition and delight. The final picture brings everyone and everything together in a nontraditional zoo. As in Jay's Picture This- (Dutton, 2000), the illustrations are captivating. The watercolor washes are done over backgrounds that simulate crazed porcelain, lending an old-fashioned feel to the paintings. The colors are easy on the eye, and the scenes are filled with marvelous detail, a clear sense of movement, and more than a touch of whimsy. A list of the items included appears at the end. More extensive than Bruno Munari's ABC (1960; Chronicle, 2003), this is a sure bet for youngsters who like to participate actively while learning their letters.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Many of the elements that appear in Jay's whimsically mysterious paintings-the oversized fruit, the winsome blue crescent moon, the elongated figures with plump midsections and attenuated limbs-reappear in this abecedarian. Each page has the appropriate letter in upper and lower case, and a simple phrase: "a is for apple / b is for balloon" and so on. But besides the named words, each page includes a number of words not in the text: "i is for ice cream" has an island and an iguana; "p is for panda" has said panda at a picnic with pears, pie, a peach, and so on. In addition, there is one item that belongs with the next letter, hinting at what's to come. All the extra words are listed at the back. In Jay's signature crackled-paint surface and limpid pure colors, she includes an artist girl and an explorer boy; they have enough to do that an alert child (or adult reader) can mess around with inventing a story once the letters become familiar. Very, very nice. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews