A Was an Apple Pie (Letters, Numbers and Colors) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1568461968 ISBN 13: 9781568461960

Publisher: Creative Editions, 2005

Synopsis

In the 1660s, English schoolchildren first met an apple pie called A. In simple, educational verse, they also met 26 other alphabetical characters who all wanted a piece of A! B bit it, J jumped for it, N nodded at it, and T took it! Creative Editions is pleased to re-introduce this classic nursery rhyme to a new generation. With lighthearted illustrations by Etienne Delessert that are sure to captivate young learners, A Was an Apple Pie is an endless slice of reading fun!

Educating young children while keeping them fully engaged can be a challenge. But teachers and parents alike will find that this lively picture book will do just that. In typical Delessert fashion, the book's illustrations refuse to settle for the ordinary. Playful creatures wear shirts bearing each respective letter of the alphabet, and their delightfully rendered shenanigans in trying to keep the piece of apple pie to themselves give the story a fun narrative arc. Each spread features a pleasing combination of color, characters, and movement that will enchant readers of all ages.

With almost 100 children's books to his credit, artist and author Etienne Delessert has established a reputation as one of the fathers of modern children's picture books. Through such books as Dance!, I Hate to Read!, The Seven Dwarfs, and Who Killed Cock Robin?, he has won gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and twice garnered the prestigious Graphics Prize from the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

About this title

About the Author

With almost 100 children's books, artist and author Etienne Delessert has established a reputation as one of the fathers of modern children's picture books. Through such books as Dance!, I Hate to Read!, The Seven Dwarfs, and Who Killed Cock Robin?, he has won gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and twice garnered the Graphics Prize from

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2–The familiar English nursery rhyme is modernized with vibrant fantastical figures that tumble across a stark white background. The brilliant contrast gives pop to the fun illustrations. Children will smile at the antics of the large-nosed creatures as the alphabet unfolds in both upper- and lowercase letters: B bit it, C cut it, L longed for it, etc. Some of the figures have long ears, some have short ones; others have rhinolike horns. All pose in their red T-shirts for a group shot before setting off after the pie. Ironically, none really gets it–a lone mouse licks it off the floor. The text is simple, large, and easy to read; it complements the clean look of the art. With its humor and action, this revision of an old rhyme will definitely strike a chord with today's children.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr. 2. This seventeenth-century nursery rhyme has enjoyed a recent revival. Delessert takes a whimsical contemporary approach, in contrast to Gennady Spirin's A Apple Pie (2005), which features nostalgic paintings of lavish costumes and pastoral scenes. Delessert stays close to the traditional text, which matches an action, centered around an apple pie, to each letter of the alphabet: "O opened it . . . P peeped in it . . . Q quartered it," and so on. Acting out the phrases are a variety of gray-toned, unidentifiable creatures, dressed in orange jerseys, whose features--snouts, long ears, gangly limbs, hair tufts, and horns--suggest a curious amalgam of animals: rabbit, monkey, mouse, dinosaur. Several illustrations require conceptual leaps and will be best appreciated by older children who have already mastered their ABCs; younger ones may not grasp the symbolism in the dialogue balloons that appear within the illustrations for "longed for it" and "mourned for it," for example. This isn't a necessary purchase, but the parade of whimsically interpreted actions, carried out by the mysterious, expressive creatures, may draw children's interest. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Creative Editions
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1568461968
• ISBN 13: 9781568461960
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Delessert Etienne
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32