Category: Alphabet Books

Digital Woodcutting

10/16/2020

A B C Animals by Christopher Evans

Just when you thought that every possible approach for animal alphabet books has been published, along comes ABC Animals. Christopher Evans’ oversized concept book sets a new standard for elegant graphic design in children's picture books.

A two-page spread is devoted to each of the twenty-six featured animals. The left-hand page displays the animal name, inital alphabet letter using three different fonts (one with textures), and a soft beige silhouette.

However, the showstopper is the facing page: an enlarged close-up of the featured animal rendered as a digital woodcut. These are not photographs produced using special effects.

Using a technique similar to engraving, Evans creates exquisitely textured body coverings. From the prickly hedgehog to the gelatinous nautilus, the iguana scales to vulture’s multiple types of feathers, the variety and beauty of the animal kingdom is awe-inspiring.

Back flap copy describes the artist’s process. Images are hand drawn with illustration software to create digital woodcuts, also referred to as modern-day engravings. “They are somewhere between an impressionist painting and a mechanical drawing.”

Readers of all ages will pore over the images, making new discoveries with each observation. Every page is a work of art worthy of framing. What a glorious tribute to the wonders of the animal kingdom and innovative artistic expression. Stunning!

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 15, 2020 Publisher: Peter Pauper Press ISBN: 978-1-4413-3463-3

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Mysterious Doings

10/15/2019

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The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City
by Tara Lazar ill by Ross MacDonald

Following up on her hit picture book 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story Tara Lazar brings readers another clever take on our alphabet system, specifically capitalized letters.

Readers are treated to a noir style whodunit. Private I is informed by Question Mark that the capital letters are missing. ALL of them. Our intrepid detective is on the case.

This was serious. If all the capital letters were gone, there’d be incomplete sentences dangling everywhere.

The super sleuth begins to search for clues, hoping to enlist the assistance of punctuation marks. They are busy. Hyphens dashes around, apostrophe gathers personal possessions, while ampersand minds her p's and q's. Lazar is a master of the well-placed pun.
Eventually Private I returns to waitress little b at Café Uno. Together they locate the missing letters and rescue them from a theater marque. "I'd always wanted to see my name in lights."
Tranquility is restored. Or is it? The final page suggests that there will be more mysteries for Private I.

MacDonald's illustrations add to the frivolity. Letters fade away. Distinctive expressions animate the punctuation and letter faces. Observant readers will find Easter Eggs scattered throughout the book. Hints: Look for the train with conjunction cars attached behind the engine and find Exclamation reading a copy of 7Ate 9. Final tip: keep an eye on the mouse.

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City is a read aloud delight. Who knew that grammar and punctuation could be so much fun?

Upper Case Antics

The Upper Case trailer

Alphabuild magnetic blocks

Bake alphabet cookies

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 15, 2019 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion ISBN: 978-1368027656

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Lunar New Year

11/29/2018

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D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine ill YongSheng Xuan

Originally published in 2006, Compestine’s celebration of Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is a vibrant compendium of Chinese culture. Presented in an alphabetical format, readers observe youngsters as they prepare for and participate in this annual fifteen-day traditional festival.

Children anticipate New Year by crafting messages on red paper and getting haircuts. Enjoy mouth-watering traditional foods: noodles, oranges, roast duck, and dumplings. Join in the celebrating with kites, lanterns, incense, and firecrackers.

Xuan’s illustrations are replete with gorgeous jewel colors. Soft yellow backgrounds play up the vibrant reds.

He seamlessly blends images across the gutter, skillfully joining two distinct concepts into one image. Objects such as the imposing dragon figure span an entire two-page spread. This creature is magnificent!

The artist includes an interesting note describing the four different calligraphic styles used to denote a dragon. Characters from the Song Dynasty, the Wei dynasty, the Grass style, and the Han dynasty appear in the background. Close study of the illustrations is needed to discover each of the four unique dragon representations.

This updated edition is bilingual. Text accompanying each illustration is presented three ways: English, Mandarin Chinese written using the Latin alphabet, and ideographically with Chinese characters. Trim size has been expanded to a generous 8.5 x 11 inches. This neatly accommodates the expanded dual language format. Readers not familiar with Chinese calligraphy may notice some of the repetitive characters and language patterns visible throughout the text.

This update significantly enhances the original version. In the spirit of the new year, libraries will want to start the New Lunar Year by replacing the well-used and beloved older edition of D is for Dragon Dance with this sparkling masterpiece.

Background

The Chinese New Year 2019 or Lunar New Year will begin on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. This is the Year of the Pig, an animal that represents diligence, kindness, and generosity.
The holiday is observed in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Mauritius, and in countries with a large Chinese community.
A Chinese calendar is not like the Gregorian calendar. It is based on the phases of the moon. The first day of Chinese New Year starts with the new moon. The last day, known as Lantern Festival is celebrated with night lantern displays.

Celebrate the New Year

Additional resources to enrich your Chinese New Year celebration.

Newbery Award-winning author illustrator Grace Lin celebrates the New Year.

Learn to read and write basic Chinese characters with Chineasy created by ShaoLan.

Make delicious dumplings with author and cook Ying Chang Compestine.

Liu Na's graphic novel of her childhood in China.

Copy provided by publisher

Pub date: October 23, 2018 Publisher: Holiday House ISBN: 978-0823440290

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ABC

10/26/2018

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The ABCs of What I Can Be
by Caitlin McDonagh

Caitlin McDonagh explores possible life choices in this charming picture book. The alphabet serves as a template for exploring career options. Most pages are divided into quandrants showcasing a quartet of possibilities. For example, the letter L page illustrates a landscaper, lawyer, librarian, and lifeguard. Amazingly, there are four careers for the letter X: xerophytic gardener, xylophone player, x-ray technician, and exobiologist. Less familiar careers can pique curiosity and send youngsters researching, which can promote some interesting discussions.
Personal note: As a Kindergartner, my son learned the word "paleontologist" and declared that was what he wanted to be when he "grew up." For him, cool word equaled cool careers.

Illustrations features young children, rather than adults in each of the occupations. Rather large heads imposed on bodies dressed in attire appropriate for the activity enhance a child's visual and emotional engagement. McDonagh uses a glorious array of skin tones, featuring multiple shades of browns and blacks.

Playfulness is amply evident. The environmentalists studying a tree appear to have arms around the tree (hugging). One nanny nestles two soundly sleeping infants while the other nanny holds a squalling baby. A cat meme appears throughout the pages. My favorite is the judge's bench with the scales of justice weighing a mouse and a piece of cheese. The cat hungrily waits below the scales. That cat steals the show! Finding all the cats is a delightful bonus.

The ABCs of What I Can Be is an excellent springboard for further exploration activities. These can include such things as: providing a box of costumes and props for dress-up and role playing, creating a personally illustrated "What I Can Be" booklet, or inviting community individuals to share careers and avocations. An author's note references the The United States Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook. She invites young readers to "try new things."

Meet Caitlin

Caitlin McDonagh is a 24 year old, Queens, New York native. She attended The Fashion Institute of Technology where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Illustration and minors in English and Art History.
Visit her online.

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: December 24, 2018 Publisher: Holiday House ISBN: 978-0823437825

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Design Me an Alphabet

10/12/2017

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Mrs. Peanuckle's Fruit Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Mrs Peanuckle's Vegetable Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Jessie Ford effectively uses an arresting graphic design with bold images and colors to highlight the world of produce, alphabet style. The appealing pages include clever annotations. Some text is informative, with details such as a pronunciation guide for Jicama, and a safety tip about eating berries found on bushes "Always ask before eating berries you find outside - some can make you very sick." A few entries seem a bit strange. Listing ice cream in a book about fruit seems a stretch.
But really, it's the striking graphic design and the charming little touches which make these board books eye-catching. Young readers will enjoy discovering the expressive faces gracing the individual fruits and vegetables.

Creating Graphic Design: A Student Project

What makes a graphic design stand out? An examination of art created by Ford provides opportunities for observation. Why not distribute copies of these books to budding artists and discuss principles of effective design. Ask: How does the artist use color, contrast, size, scale, shape, and placement to create a graphic that is interesting and informative?

Students might be encouraged to try making a graphic design. A common item that students have is a backpack. Why not create graphic designs based on "What's in my backpack?" or "What's in my lunchbox?"

Always up for a challenge, I decided to try making a graphic design using an item from my lunchbox. (In this case it is a chocolate chip cookie.) Of course, that meant I would be starting with a capital letter "C."
After locating a few simple materials, I was on my way.
Solid colored heavy printer paper seemed like a logical choice for a background material. Scissors helped a free-form cookie take shape. I added pops of color with some yellow and purple post-it notes. Waxy brown crayon markings served as the chocolate chips. A hole punch made short work on the remaining scraps and gave the design some pizzazz.
Using children's board books to teach students principles of graphic design is a fresh and fun approach to teaching visual arts. This activity is suitable for students of all ages

Additonal Books in the Mrs. Peanuckle Alphabet Series

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Pastabilities

2/7/2017

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ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet by Juana Medina

Medina has done it again! ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet follows up on 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book with artfully designed pages that combine stunning photos with clever illustrations to create another picture book filled with WOW!

This alphabet book is a primer for budding pasta enthusiasts. A shopping trip to the market's pasta aisle will open minds to exciting design, alphabet, and gastronomic possibilities.
As a bonus Medina includes a recipe for Cacio e Pepe

So long same-old alphabet soup. Goodbye boring blue box Mac & Cheese. This is the way pasta was meant to be enjoyed!

Companion Books

1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book by Juana Medina

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

More Spaghetti, I Say by Rita Golden Gelman

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Digital Woodcutting

A B C Animals by Christopher Evans

Mysterious Doings

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City
by Tara Lazar ill by Ross MacDonald

Upper Case Antics

Lunar New Year

D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine ill YongSheng Xuan

Background

Celebrate the New Year

ABC

The ABCs of What I Can Be
by Caitlin McDonagh

Meet Caitlin

Design Me an Alphabet

Mrs. Peanuckle's Fruit Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Mrs Peanuckle's Vegetable Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Creating Graphic Design: A Student Project

Additonal Books in the Mrs. Peanuckle Alphabet Series

Pastabilities

ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet by Juana Medina

Companion Books

Category

Archives

Barbara Moon

Digital Woodcutting

A B C Animals by Christopher Evans

Mysterious Doings

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital Cityby Tara Lazar ill by Ross MacDonald

Upper Case Antics

Lunar New Year

D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine ill YongSheng Xuan

Background

Celebrate the New Year

ABC

The ABCs of What I Can Beby Caitlin McDonagh

Meet Caitlin

Design Me an Alphabet

Mrs. Peanuckle's Fruit Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Mrs Peanuckle's Vegetable Alphabet art by Jessie Ford

Creating Graphic Design: A Student Project

Additonal Books in the Mrs. Peanuckle Alphabet Series

﻿Pastabilities

ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet by Juana Medina

Companion Books

Category

Archives

Barbara Moon

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City
by Tara Lazar ill by Ross MacDonald

The ABCs of What I Can Be
by Caitlin McDonagh

Pastabilities