Alphabatics - Hardcover

MacDonald, Suse

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027615200 ISBN 13: 9780027615203

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1986

Synopsis

A is for ark. But did you know that if you turn an A upside down and round the point out a little, it becomes an ark?
B is for balloon. But did you know that if you blow it up really big, the hole in the middle floats away like a balloon?
In this wonderfully creative alphabet book, letters are pulled, twisted, reversed, and curled until they become part of what they represent. F becomes a fish, and Y becomes a yak!
Young readers will be fascinated with the way the letters evolve into the final creation. They'll never look at the alphabet the same way again!

About this title

About the Author

Suse MacDonald published her first book, Alphabatics, for Simon & Schuster in 1986. This book won a Caldecott Honor in 1987, kicking off a prolific and successful career. Suse continues to write and illustrate books for children, including Fish, Swish! Splash, Dash!: Counting Round and Round, Alphabet Animals: A Slide and Peek Adventure, and Dino Shapes. Suse loves to work in her studio and finds pleasure in encouraging readers to make their own artistic discoveries. Suse lives in Arvada, Colorado, with her husband, Stuart.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3 An alphabet book that is imaginative, original, and bound to strike a creative note in children. Boldly colored upper- and lower-case letters appear at the top left of every page. Below them, each boxed animated letter jumps, dances, or gently sways to become a part of an object or a scene on the facing page, with one-word labels. MacDonald's A tilts, flops over, and literally becomes an ark as it turns itself around. An N turns over, glides up a tree trunk, and becomes a nest for three young birds. Crisp, fresh, and totally effective, it's a unique way of looking at the alphabet. This is a book to encourage creative thinking and for sheer enjoyment of MacDonald's precise graphics, rather than for object identification among the very young. A visual delight. Trev Jones, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An "A" is inverted and its sides plump up. Suddenly, it's an "Ark," floating on the high seas. The "C" falls over backwards and becomes the broad grin of a "Clown." When the lowercase "h" fills in, the first downstroke becomes a chimney and the hump peaks like the roof of a "house." MacDonald uses visual acrobatics to tease young ABC learners into looking at letters in an unusual way. Her graphics are set boldly against a pristine while background. The concept could take all the hard work out of learning the alphabet; some readers may be inspired to make their own attempts to convert letters into art. (All ages
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0027615200
• ISBN 13: 9780027615203
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: MacDonald Suse
• Number of pages: 64