Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure - Hardcover

Inkpen, Mick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152025944 ISBN 13: 9780152025946

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001

Synopsis

Kipper the dog and his friend Arnold work through the alphabet by collecting animals and other things for each letter. 75,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Kipper is the creation of award-winning author-illustrator MICK INKPEN, whose books have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Mick Inkpen lives in Suffolk, England.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-Inkpen's familiar dog and his friends Arnold (a pig) and a zebra take children on an alphabet adventure, searching for things that begin with each letter. Large, black upper- and lowercase letters decorate each page as the story uses words that begin with that letter to describe the action. After a small picture before the copyright page of Kipper telling the zebra, "We won't need you till much, much later," the book begins: "This is Kipper's little friend, Arnold. Arnold has found an ant. Aa is for ant. And Arnold." On the next page, Arnold has a box, in which he tries to put the ant (and various other small insects the friends encounter as they proceed through the alphabet), and both follow the buzzing bumblebee to the next page, etc. The book's excellent format includes plenty of white space, Inkpen's colorful and uncluttered cartoon illustrations, and large type. The text includes several tricks to spur a child's interest-the ant appears and disappears throughout the book; the "K" word is left to readers to guess when Kipper and Arnold can't think of one; the zebra keeps popping up to see if it's his turn. An appealing concept book with childlike humor, this will be wonderful for small-group or one-on-one sharing.

Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Creepy crawly critters and recurring jokes feature in this sprightly ABC tale. In a teaser, ahead of the title page, the eponymous pooch tells a zebra, "We won't need you till much, much later." Inkpen thus signals his plans to eschew a formulaic abecedarian approach and introduces the letters in inventive ways, giving his volume a rollicking spontaneity and a story line. In some cases, the author subtly slips the spotlighted letter into the narrative, which follows Kipper and his pig pal, Arnold, as they encounter bugs, animals and other objects, most of which Arnold places in a box (e.g., "He opened his box and put the interesting insect inside"). Other whimsical touches include the reemergence of creatures introduced on previous pages; inventive use of type (as on the spread introducing h, when the text forms an arc shaped around a hill); the intermittent appearance of the earnest zebra, who wants to know if it's his turn yet (to which Kipper replies, "No, not now!... You don't begin with N"); and one quite waggish omission: "Kipper couldn't think of anything beginning with K. Can you think of anything?" Yet likely the strongest selling point here is Inkpen's signature charming, childlike art, which offers endearing images of these expressive young animal characters at every turn. Adorable, breezy, clever, this is the alphabet book of choice. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-7. Some alphabet stories lose their audience in elaborate contrivances that twist the story to fit the letters. Inkpen keeps things simple, flexible, and fun, so children can sound out the letters as they follow the story in big type and clear, active pictures. Kipper the dog and his friend Arnold the pig try to find various creatures, from ants and bumblebees to wiggly worms. Along with animals, they often find sounds and actions for the letters ("Ss is for Splish! Splosh! Splash! And six squishy slugs"), and when an animal doesn't fit, Kipper and Arnold find something that does ("Uu is for under the umbrella"). The little zebra is a running gag throughout ("Is it my turn yet?"), and there are other laughs to make kids feel they are in on the jokes. Those who know Kipper from Nickelodeon will welcome him in this playful book, which will be fun to reread and join in. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152025944
• ISBN 13: 9780152025946
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 56