The A to Z Beastly Jamboree (Picture Books) - Softcover

Bender, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140562133 ISBN 13: 9780140562132

Publisher: Puffin, 1999

Synopsis

Presents an alphabet book with a twist as a wild cast of characters does the oddest things, such as zebras zipper a Z and lions launch an L, with fun-filled illustrations to enhance a child's journey through the alphabet. Reprint.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2?Vivid paintings, well-chosen words, and a clever concept distinguish this alphabet book. Each full-page illustration is captioned with a three-word sentence that describes what an animal is doing to the featured letter. Many are humorously destructive: "Rhinoceroses ruin R" and "Bats boil B," recalling Chris Van Allsburg's The Z Was Zapped (Houghton, 1987). Others are more benign, as in "Elephants embrace E." Each painting is neatly bordered by 26 animals. All ants are shown for A; 1 ant and 25 bats for B; an ant, a bat, and 24 cows for C; etc.; until the border is completed at Z with 26 different animals. Kids will recognize almost all of the creatures (maybe not the dodo, and probably not the xanthid crab). Older readers might enjoy trying to guess the caption from the picture. Bender's usual paint-on-acetate technique works well in this format. The luminous colors, particularly yellows, greens, and oranges, create an individual tone for each page without sacrificing unity. The humor is nicely restrained: a pig purchasing P casually carries his change in his mouth, while two octopuses use nearly every arm to "overfeed O." Uppercase letters are used in the pictures, but the captions offer both upper- and lowercase examples. A refreshing addition.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Bender (Toads and Diamonds, 1995, etc.) rises to the demands of the highly structured alphabet-book format. Each animal performs an alliterative action on the letter that begins its name (``Ants anchor Aa. Bats boil Bb''). The more outlandish the verb is, the better this works, as in ``Narwhals needle Nn'' and ``Unicorns undress Uu.'' The book passes the X-test with flying colors- -``Xanthid crabs X-ray Xx''--and has an extra gimmick for watchful readers in the page frames. Bender's technique of painting on acetates overlaid on a black background creates illustrations that shine with a fuzzy brilliance. However, instead of employing bright primaries, he elects a more subdued palette that still takes full advantage of the luminosity of the medium: Green browns and purple grays abound, and they are anything but dull. An exciting, approachable look at the animal kingdom. (Picture book. 2-6) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0140562133
• ISBN 13: 9780140562132
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32