F-Freezing ABC - Hardcover

Simmonds, Posy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679879153 ISBN 13: 9780679879152

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1996

Synopsis

After selling out of the original hardcover edition, this innovative adventure in learning the alphabet is now a Dragonfly paperback.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

g out of the original hardcover edition, this innovative adventure in learning the alphabet is now a Dragonfly paperback.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2?A flawed British import. An anteater, a bear, a cat, and a taciturn duck journey forth on a wintery trip through the alphabet in search of warm shelter. Along the way, they encounter elephants, a goat, a kangaroo, a lion, and a skunk, all of whom are depicted with charm in Simmonds's pastel colored-pencil drawings. " 'A-A-Atishoo!' sneezes the Anteater. 'I-it's a-absolutely ar-ar-arctic!' " begins the story. " 'Brr!' shivered the Bear. 'It's b-b-bitter!' 'C-Cold!' complained the Cat." The heavy and repeated emphasis on the animals' teeth-chattering enunciations will almost inevitably draw undue attention to and cause distress for any child who stutters. The irony brought forth in the colorful conclusion of the animals' adventure will bring a smile, if not an outright chuckle from young readers, but the chill of the problems from a rude "shut up!" injunction to the ubiquitous "teeth-chattering" communications may well have set in by that time.?Jerry D. Flack, University of Colorado
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A bitter wintry wind blows as four unlikely friends-a duck, cat, anteater and bear-leave their unheated home in search of warm lodging. The animals encounter every letter of the alphabet as they roam; the "E-Elephant" has a cozy but crowded house, the "F-Fox" looks too hungry for the duck's comfort and the "G-Goat" lives in a haunted mansion. The British author/artist sometimes gropes to fit sequential letters into the story (e.g., "insects hibernating" in an "I-Igloo"). By the time the letters X and Y come along, though, readers won't bat an eye at the xylophone-playing yak. Besides, thanks to Simmonds's icy illustrations, the Ernest Shepard-esque characters' plight takes precedence over the alphabetic premise. Gray outlines trimmed in blue evoke the tundra-like outdoors; accents of warm yellow and pink signify snug indoor lairs; and charcoal gray blended with pine green indicates a shadowy nightfall. Such details as a kangaroo that donates its sweater to the shivering anteater, and an umbrella that passes from a skunk to the bear to an angry wolf carry through from page to page and encourage repeat readings. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 2^-5. A winter alphabet book has fun with repeated letters and sounds as it tells a nonsense story about animals in search of shelter. The anteater, the bear, the cat, and the duck go to see the elephant, escape the fox, and so on. The letters are repeated as they shiver with cold ("`A-A-Atishoo!' sneezed the Anteater" ). Gently colored illustrations show animal characters grousing and complaining and venturing forth in the blizzard from igloo to jetty, until they run away from the wolf in the woods, zigzag down the hill, and return, finally, to the warmth of home. An amusing, alliterative adventure. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679879153
• ISBN 13: 9780679879152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1